Travels, Comic Break, and Commissions
Posted a month agoHey, folks!
Just a news bulletin today. For reasons that will become clear, I didn't want to prompt a lot of responses since I won't be able to answer them for a short while.
I've just cleared the three stories from my last YCH auction and first wanted to say: Thank all of you for participating and for supporting me through this. I've still got work to do to rein in my story lengths, but I have worked out a better system for planning stories that doesn't result in as much of the churn that had me so stressed out about performance last year. Simply put, it's been more fun and productive to take some initial time to plan things out in a way that works for me. I fully intend to set up more story YCH opportunities in the future, at least once I take on one or two special private commissions.
For the next couple weeks, however, I'll be traveling and will likely have trouble keeping up with online correspondence. I figured I'd mention it here first.
On the comic front, I'm sure some of you have heard about the rather baffling new restrictions on both Gumroad and Patreon. This affects Sexual Tyrannosaurus, too, since that comic is financed by patrons and since Lomas is taking this month to figure out a solution that will most likely involve Subscribestar. That means no Patreon updates this month, which unfortunately means no public updates this month, either. Thus far, the comic does conform with Patreon's new guidelines, but given the arbitrariness and suddenness of the changes, it's looking like it's time to dust off the old saddle and prepare to move to sunnier pastures.
That's about it for this update. I'm posting the latest of the YCH stories today, so get your reading glasses on and your pants off!
*****
Track of the Week:
Track: Avril 14th
Artist: Aphex Twin
Album: Drukqs
Release Year: 2001
Sometimes you just want to kick back, unwind, and listen to Come to Daddy. But this works too.
Just a news bulletin today. For reasons that will become clear, I didn't want to prompt a lot of responses since I won't be able to answer them for a short while.
I've just cleared the three stories from my last YCH auction and first wanted to say: Thank all of you for participating and for supporting me through this. I've still got work to do to rein in my story lengths, but I have worked out a better system for planning stories that doesn't result in as much of the churn that had me so stressed out about performance last year. Simply put, it's been more fun and productive to take some initial time to plan things out in a way that works for me. I fully intend to set up more story YCH opportunities in the future, at least once I take on one or two special private commissions.
For the next couple weeks, however, I'll be traveling and will likely have trouble keeping up with online correspondence. I figured I'd mention it here first.
On the comic front, I'm sure some of you have heard about the rather baffling new restrictions on both Gumroad and Patreon. This affects Sexual Tyrannosaurus, too, since that comic is financed by patrons and since Lomas is taking this month to figure out a solution that will most likely involve Subscribestar. That means no Patreon updates this month, which unfortunately means no public updates this month, either. Thus far, the comic does conform with Patreon's new guidelines, but given the arbitrariness and suddenness of the changes, it's looking like it's time to dust off the old saddle and prepare to move to sunnier pastures.
That's about it for this update. I'm posting the latest of the YCH stories today, so get your reading glasses on and your pants off!
*****
Track of the Week:
Track: Avril 14th
Artist: Aphex Twin
Album: Drukqs
Release Year: 2001
Sometimes you just want to kick back, unwind, and listen to Come to Daddy. But this works too.
(Where) It Begins!
Posted 2 months agoBeen a little too long since I brought up a TF discussion topic in my journals. I thought of a question with no wrong answer (but plenty of right ones). In a slow burn transformation, supposing you took the most realistic approach you can think of, what parts of the body should first be affected? Would the changes begin deep under the surface before the first visible symptoms? Would they begin at the peripheries and work their way inward and upward, or would they begin at the core and work their way out?
Personally, I like the idea of changes under the hood preceding the first visual indications. I also like it when writers factor this in, since it's a unique position that we have compared to visual TF artists, who quite understandably must focus on the visible aspects of the change. Disorientation, general irritability, itchiness, shifts in appetite, capitulating to strange urges, sudden, visceral hatred of capitalism, all can be solid symptoms of an imminent transformation.
And if you really want to nerd out, which I always respect, what are some of the internal physiological changes that could precede and aid a transformation? Could the body's cells stockpile and pack in as much ATP as they can handle before consuming it to rapidly change the body? Could certain internal organs grow or diminish? Could entirely new organs grow, enabling the person to do things that most people cannot? I'd love to hear what you guys think or can come up with.
As a small news update, due to the downstream effects of Patreon's policy changes, and how they necessitated a restructuring of Lomas' Patreon, Imp's Paradise, updates to Sexual Tyrannosaurus will now be twice a month instead of three times. While unfortunate, I can say that the majority of the comic is complete, which means the comic will conclude this year.
*****
Track of the Week:
Track: Electric Counterpoint: III. Fast
Artist(s): Steve Reich and Pat Metheny
Release Year: 1987
Minimalism wasn't always marketing executives figuring out how to turn a fox into a little orange swirl that evokes the memory of a fox or societal elites trying to come up with exciting new ways to give less and do less. Once upon a time, it was a postwar artistic movement built around subtle, gradual variation, of removing noise and external stimuli to draw the mind to sharp focus on the little things. There was a time when minimalism might even be considered 'cool', and that moment was probably this song.
Bonus Røyskopp version:
Personally, I like the idea of changes under the hood preceding the first visual indications. I also like it when writers factor this in, since it's a unique position that we have compared to visual TF artists, who quite understandably must focus on the visible aspects of the change. Disorientation, general irritability, itchiness, shifts in appetite, capitulating to strange urges, sudden, visceral hatred of capitalism, all can be solid symptoms of an imminent transformation.
And if you really want to nerd out, which I always respect, what are some of the internal physiological changes that could precede and aid a transformation? Could the body's cells stockpile and pack in as much ATP as they can handle before consuming it to rapidly change the body? Could certain internal organs grow or diminish? Could entirely new organs grow, enabling the person to do things that most people cannot? I'd love to hear what you guys think or can come up with.
As a small news update, due to the downstream effects of Patreon's policy changes, and how they necessitated a restructuring of Lomas' Patreon, Imp's Paradise, updates to Sexual Tyrannosaurus will now be twice a month instead of three times. While unfortunate, I can say that the majority of the comic is complete, which means the comic will conclude this year.
*****
Track of the Week:
Track: Electric Counterpoint: III. Fast
Artist(s): Steve Reich and Pat Metheny
Release Year: 1987
Minimalism wasn't always marketing executives figuring out how to turn a fox into a little orange swirl that evokes the memory of a fox or societal elites trying to come up with exciting new ways to give less and do less. Once upon a time, it was a postwar artistic movement built around subtle, gradual variation, of removing noise and external stimuli to draw the mind to sharp focus on the little things. There was a time when minimalism might even be considered 'cool', and that moment was probably this song.
Bonus Røyskopp version:
Dog Sees God
Posted 3 months agoLadies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure to announce that someone, namely tricksterthewerewolf , just released a (delightfully blasphemous) story set in the CANID-20 universe called Dog Sees God! Trickster just returned to FA after a long break from the fandom, something I can definitely relate to, and is a fabulously skilled pornsmith. Go check it out!
The saucy jaunt follows the young, pious, and ever-so-slightly naive Benjamin as he's overwhelmed by a rapturous religious reformation of a canine persuasion.
Yes, this is a shameless boost for an exceptionally talented but somewhat shy friend. Help make his new beginning a special one!
Track of the Week
Do you like perilous odysseys? Heroic epics set in deadly wastelands? Zero to Hero tales of transcendence? Torsos? If you answered yes to at least one of these, this is the story for you, the Complete Existential Adventures of Torsolo.
The saucy jaunt follows the young, pious, and ever-so-slightly naive Benjamin as he's overwhelmed by a rapturous religious reformation of a canine persuasion.
Yes, this is a shameless boost for an exceptionally talented but somewhat shy friend. Help make his new beginning a special one!
Track of the Week
Do you like perilous odysseys? Heroic epics set in deadly wastelands? Zero to Hero tales of transcendence? Torsos? If you answered yes to at least one of these, this is the story for you, the Complete Existential Adventures of Torsolo.
Utopia and Dystopia
Posted 4 months agoFirst off, I wanted to announce that the YCH commissions were a great success! Thank you to everyone who bid, especially those who went with the Autobuy option. Those came as a big surprise, and I will work diligently on those this month in the following order (please keep in mind that these are working titles):
Old Dog, New Tricks
Hot Under the Collar
No Mere Fluke
This journal's topic is a little tangential to TF, but one I thought about recently after a response to a story I posted last year, Posthuman.
When embarking on that project, I consciously wanted to create a utopian setting, something underutilized in our time. We're all familiar with dystopias, but we're so saturated with them that I'm concerned that we're heading into a literary future without aspiration.
Utopia is a flawed idea. An unreachable idea. Utopia translates to 'no-place', and among the most powerful tropes in storytelling is the idea that one person's utopia is another person's nightmare. Look deep enough into any utopian concept, no matter how thoroughly thought out, and you can find something that ruins the party. The importance of dystopian fiction is that it gives us stories and narrative tools that warn us about the dangers of real-life utopian projects such as cults, religious fundamentalist communities, and autocracies. It's no surprise that the World Wars, and to an extent the Cold War, shaped fiction in ways that turned it firmly away from utopian ideals and towards dystopian worlds.
That being said, is there such a thing as too much dystopia? I think so. I feel like it's fair to ask what being surrounded by bleak, nightmarish universes does to our dreams and aspirations. If everywhere you turn you see the dire consequences of something that started with good intentions, if disaster lurks down every path into the future, then why do good? Why even try?
I think about the core ideals of what's arguably the most famous utopian project: Starfleet. Is the Federation perfect? No. Every episode and film in the Star Trek universe up until the 2000s focused on conflicts, crises, and errors. There was also the tendency, intentional or not, to depict an interstellar navy as the ideal mechanism with which to better humanity and our allies, a somewhat Anglo-American point of view. At its best, however, Star Trek was conscious of the flaws in people and the institutions they create, and always sought to extol and protect our most sacred values: Compassion. Friendship. Tenacity. Equity.
At some point, though, the growing popularity of dystopian fiction took hold of Star Trek too. The shift was subtle, but clear. The Federation no longer stood for core ideals but for expansionism, imperialism, and conquest. The people in it may still have embodied the better parts of humanity, but now they usually do so in spite of Starfleet, not because of it. In a universe filled with threats, the good guys aren't the ones that aspire to be their best, just the ones who commit the fewest evils. The distinction between a troubled utopia and a benign dystopia may be a subtle one, but I can't shake the feeling that we lost something very special in the transition.
Even though any effort to worldbuild a utopia is doomed from the start, that doesn't mean the effort is pointless. In fact, the aspirational quality of utopias may be a remedy for excessive bleakness. A good utopian effort must provide answers to questions. How does this resolve a pressing problem? Who benefits the most? Who bears the highest cost? How are the most powerless, least enfranchised members of society treated compared to our own? What do those most unhappy with the current situation want, and are their aspirations more harmful than the status quo's?
In a landscape riddled with dystopias and expectations of dystopia, it can be more of a challenge to try and create a utopia simply because at face value it seems terribly naive. Even so, we live in times of compromised ideals, times that test our most basic concepts of decency. As crazy as it sounds, there are people out there who don't know why genocide is immoral, or why a child should not be taken from their parents and kept in a cage, or why dropping a bomb on a hospital is wrong. The people of the world will not have the compassion that they deserve, but damn it, shouldn't we at least try? If we believe that every act eventually leads to evil, then we become paralyzed, incapable of doing even little things to brighten each others' lives. Yet if we believe the world can be better, as silly and far away as it seems, then doesn't that at least allow for the possibility of growth and improvement?
If I'm being a little harsh on Dystopian fiction, I don't mean to be. In fact, most read like prequels to a utopia. We're taken to a world where a system of injustice prevails and get to watch it unravel through the actions of the protagonists, who create the opportunity for something better. Watching people transition from despair to hope to fulfillment is immensely satisfying. Most dystopian tales stop there, though, giving us a euphoric hit of justice before letting go, leaving us wanting more. We don't get to see the end of the honeymoon, the challenges of implementing the new system, and the fading of memories as the revolution becomes the status quo. This is where the utopian challenge begins. Do you as an author or the characters you've created have what it takes to understand and internalize the values and aspirations of their predecessors? To restore them? To protect them? To advance them? Getting readers to root for a revolution is one thing, but steady, incremental change at a human scale? That's more of a challenge. Yet it's important that we represent it so that we share the tools for people to know WHY we don't encourage genocide, or bombing hospitals, or caging children, and enable them to stop it.
Sometimes it just helps to know that we have improved. Sometimes it helps to know that when terrible things happen, we're not wrong to want something better.
Track of the Week:
Artist: MU-TH-UR 6000
Album: USCSS Nostromo
Original Release Year: 1979
Does anyone even click on these? Well, don't click this one.
Old Dog, New Tricks
Hot Under the Collar
No Mere Fluke
This journal's topic is a little tangential to TF, but one I thought about recently after a response to a story I posted last year, Posthuman.
When embarking on that project, I consciously wanted to create a utopian setting, something underutilized in our time. We're all familiar with dystopias, but we're so saturated with them that I'm concerned that we're heading into a literary future without aspiration.
Utopia is a flawed idea. An unreachable idea. Utopia translates to 'no-place', and among the most powerful tropes in storytelling is the idea that one person's utopia is another person's nightmare. Look deep enough into any utopian concept, no matter how thoroughly thought out, and you can find something that ruins the party. The importance of dystopian fiction is that it gives us stories and narrative tools that warn us about the dangers of real-life utopian projects such as cults, religious fundamentalist communities, and autocracies. It's no surprise that the World Wars, and to an extent the Cold War, shaped fiction in ways that turned it firmly away from utopian ideals and towards dystopian worlds.
That being said, is there such a thing as too much dystopia? I think so. I feel like it's fair to ask what being surrounded by bleak, nightmarish universes does to our dreams and aspirations. If everywhere you turn you see the dire consequences of something that started with good intentions, if disaster lurks down every path into the future, then why do good? Why even try?
I think about the core ideals of what's arguably the most famous utopian project: Starfleet. Is the Federation perfect? No. Every episode and film in the Star Trek universe up until the 2000s focused on conflicts, crises, and errors. There was also the tendency, intentional or not, to depict an interstellar navy as the ideal mechanism with which to better humanity and our allies, a somewhat Anglo-American point of view. At its best, however, Star Trek was conscious of the flaws in people and the institutions they create, and always sought to extol and protect our most sacred values: Compassion. Friendship. Tenacity. Equity.
At some point, though, the growing popularity of dystopian fiction took hold of Star Trek too. The shift was subtle, but clear. The Federation no longer stood for core ideals but for expansionism, imperialism, and conquest. The people in it may still have embodied the better parts of humanity, but now they usually do so in spite of Starfleet, not because of it. In a universe filled with threats, the good guys aren't the ones that aspire to be their best, just the ones who commit the fewest evils. The distinction between a troubled utopia and a benign dystopia may be a subtle one, but I can't shake the feeling that we lost something very special in the transition.
Even though any effort to worldbuild a utopia is doomed from the start, that doesn't mean the effort is pointless. In fact, the aspirational quality of utopias may be a remedy for excessive bleakness. A good utopian effort must provide answers to questions. How does this resolve a pressing problem? Who benefits the most? Who bears the highest cost? How are the most powerless, least enfranchised members of society treated compared to our own? What do those most unhappy with the current situation want, and are their aspirations more harmful than the status quo's?
In a landscape riddled with dystopias and expectations of dystopia, it can be more of a challenge to try and create a utopia simply because at face value it seems terribly naive. Even so, we live in times of compromised ideals, times that test our most basic concepts of decency. As crazy as it sounds, there are people out there who don't know why genocide is immoral, or why a child should not be taken from their parents and kept in a cage, or why dropping a bomb on a hospital is wrong. The people of the world will not have the compassion that they deserve, but damn it, shouldn't we at least try? If we believe that every act eventually leads to evil, then we become paralyzed, incapable of doing even little things to brighten each others' lives. Yet if we believe the world can be better, as silly and far away as it seems, then doesn't that at least allow for the possibility of growth and improvement?
If I'm being a little harsh on Dystopian fiction, I don't mean to be. In fact, most read like prequels to a utopia. We're taken to a world where a system of injustice prevails and get to watch it unravel through the actions of the protagonists, who create the opportunity for something better. Watching people transition from despair to hope to fulfillment is immensely satisfying. Most dystopian tales stop there, though, giving us a euphoric hit of justice before letting go, leaving us wanting more. We don't get to see the end of the honeymoon, the challenges of implementing the new system, and the fading of memories as the revolution becomes the status quo. This is where the utopian challenge begins. Do you as an author or the characters you've created have what it takes to understand and internalize the values and aspirations of their predecessors? To restore them? To protect them? To advance them? Getting readers to root for a revolution is one thing, but steady, incremental change at a human scale? That's more of a challenge. Yet it's important that we represent it so that we share the tools for people to know WHY we don't encourage genocide, or bombing hospitals, or caging children, and enable them to stop it.
Sometimes it just helps to know that we have improved. Sometimes it helps to know that when terrible things happen, we're not wrong to want something better.
Track of the Week:
Artist: MU-TH-UR 6000
Album: USCSS Nostromo
Original Release Year: 1979
Does anyone even click on these? Well, don't click this one.
Trying Out YCH Story Slots
Posted 4 months agoHello, everyone!
It's finally time to take on some commissions. I'm trying something different this time. I will post a submission later featuring three existing story ideas, YCHs awaiting eager vic-- I mean, clients.
There are two things I want to test with this: First, the idea of the story YCH itself. These stories are not prefabricated, but I have some pre-existing ideas for stories I'd like to write, and if folks are willing to sponsor them, then I may find more motivation to take on future commissions. Second, I've never quite been sure what my pricing should be, so the activities and bids surrounding these YCHs should give me a better idea of what you're comfortable with. In summary this is an experiment, one that may reshape the stories I tell in the future.
All YCHs this time are of the same length: 5000+ words. The SB pricing reflects a couple years of inflation (sadly not the fun kind).
To bid on the slots, click here! If you have questions, you can comment on this journal or on the YCH submission.
YCH #1: No Mere Fluke
After repeated failures in their attempts to recover the three humanoid shark men that resulted from the improper disposal of Project: Freedomfish, the U.S. Navy begins a new initiative to create a being capable of hunting them down… And immediately loses track of that, too.
Kink: Male Lactation
Trigger: Food or Beverage
Species: Orca
Featuring: Shark Bois (Mori, Murray, and Kai)
Length: 5000+ Words
SB: $100
MB: $10
AB: $350
Bidders must have a male human character, or be willing to make one.
YCH #2: Hot Under the Collar
We get it. Sometimes you’re so excited about a new accessory that you forget to check if it’s cursed first. Then, before you know it, your ears are full of whispers and chittering and no matter what you do, the stubborn collar won’t budge. At this point you have two options: Find an exorcist (good luck!), or consult your friendly neighborhood demon.
Kink: TFTG (Male or Female to Intersex)
Trigger: Cursed Collar
Species: Your deepest desire (with a splash of demon)
Length: 5000+ Words
SB: $100
MB: $10
AB: $350
Bidders must have a male or female human character, or be willing to make one.
YCH #3: Old Dog, New Tricks
After spending almost 2,000 years cloistered in catacombs and museums, Anubis has some catching up to do when it comes to the world of kinks, a major concern for a deity who is now worshipped as a sex symbol. Fortunately, he’s learned of a subset of mortals with a distinct canine affinity, people who refer to their pastime as ‘Pup Play’. The ancient dog must learn some new tricks to earn their devotion. He’d be happy to compensate his new teacher with a few tricks of his own…
Kink: Pup Play
Trigger: Divine Magic
Species: Demi Jackal
Featuring: Anubis (plus Omar and/or Zev)
Length: 5000+ Words
SB: $100
MB: $10
AB: $350
Bidders must have a male human character, or be willing to make one.
It's finally time to take on some commissions. I'm trying something different this time. I will post a submission later featuring three existing story ideas, YCHs awaiting eager vic-- I mean, clients.
There are two things I want to test with this: First, the idea of the story YCH itself. These stories are not prefabricated, but I have some pre-existing ideas for stories I'd like to write, and if folks are willing to sponsor them, then I may find more motivation to take on future commissions. Second, I've never quite been sure what my pricing should be, so the activities and bids surrounding these YCHs should give me a better idea of what you're comfortable with. In summary this is an experiment, one that may reshape the stories I tell in the future.
All YCHs this time are of the same length: 5000+ words. The SB pricing reflects a couple years of inflation (sadly not the fun kind).
To bid on the slots, click here! If you have questions, you can comment on this journal or on the YCH submission.
YCH #1: No Mere Fluke
After repeated failures in their attempts to recover the three humanoid shark men that resulted from the improper disposal of Project: Freedomfish, the U.S. Navy begins a new initiative to create a being capable of hunting them down… And immediately loses track of that, too.
Kink: Male Lactation
Trigger: Food or Beverage
Species: Orca
Featuring: Shark Bois (Mori, Murray, and Kai)
Length: 5000+ Words
SB: $100
MB: $10
AB: $350
Bidders must have a male human character, or be willing to make one.
YCH #2: Hot Under the Collar
We get it. Sometimes you’re so excited about a new accessory that you forget to check if it’s cursed first. Then, before you know it, your ears are full of whispers and chittering and no matter what you do, the stubborn collar won’t budge. At this point you have two options: Find an exorcist (good luck!), or consult your friendly neighborhood demon.
Kink: TFTG (Male or Female to Intersex)
Trigger: Cursed Collar
Species: Your deepest desire (with a splash of demon)
Length: 5000+ Words
SB: $100
MB: $10
AB: $350
Bidders must have a male or female human character, or be willing to make one.
YCH #3: Old Dog, New Tricks
After spending almost 2,000 years cloistered in catacombs and museums, Anubis has some catching up to do when it comes to the world of kinks, a major concern for a deity who is now worshipped as a sex symbol. Fortunately, he’s learned of a subset of mortals with a distinct canine affinity, people who refer to their pastime as ‘Pup Play’. The ancient dog must learn some new tricks to earn their devotion. He’d be happy to compensate his new teacher with a few tricks of his own…
Kink: Pup Play
Trigger: Divine Magic
Species: Demi Jackal
Featuring: Anubis (plus Omar and/or Zev)
Length: 5000+ Words
SB: $100
MB: $10
AB: $350
Bidders must have a male human character, or be willing to make one.
Con Crud and Commissions
Posted 4 months agoGreetings, fellow enthusiasts of all things TF-related. I'm back from FurCon! I escaped Elevator Con at the Westin Hotel with my absurdly magnanimous beau strikercue12! I got to hang out with rakan! I got to try Ethiopian cuisine! I attended some TF and writing panels! I got to meet some furry writers (briefly)! I got Con Crud!
But you're not here to hear about terrible, horrible phlegm. You're here for those boutique maladies, the ones that make folks sprout scales or fur or claws or paws or hooves or fangs or snouts! Well, sadly, I did not contract such a disease, but that's not to say I won't keep trying.
It's a new year, a new opportunity to stop waiting and hoping for things to improve and start making it happen. 2023 was rough for me, but it did teach me in its closing months that I'm still capable of writing within limits and having fun within those boundaries. You can expect me to reopen for commissions soon, though I think this time I may have more fun with the idea by allowing more opportunities and incentives to mix my characters with yours and see what mischief we can achieve.
To that end, I'm genuinely curious: Which of my characters or settings especially resonated with you, to the point where you'd like to see me return to those ideas and expand upon them? Your answers may shape how I take on my next batch of commissions.
*****
Track of the Week:
Track: Pthumerian Cup
Artist: Evelyn Lark
Year: 2021
Bloodborne Kart. What else is there to say?
But you're not here to hear about terrible, horrible phlegm. You're here for those boutique maladies, the ones that make folks sprout scales or fur or claws or paws or hooves or fangs or snouts! Well, sadly, I did not contract such a disease, but that's not to say I won't keep trying.
It's a new year, a new opportunity to stop waiting and hoping for things to improve and start making it happen. 2023 was rough for me, but it did teach me in its closing months that I'm still capable of writing within limits and having fun within those boundaries. You can expect me to reopen for commissions soon, though I think this time I may have more fun with the idea by allowing more opportunities and incentives to mix my characters with yours and see what mischief we can achieve.
To that end, I'm genuinely curious: Which of my characters or settings especially resonated with you, to the point where you'd like to see me return to those ideas and expand upon them? Your answers may shape how I take on my next batch of commissions.
*****
Track of the Week:
Track: Pthumerian Cup
Artist: Evelyn Lark
Year: 2021
Bloodborne Kart. What else is there to say?
Comic Break, FurCon, and Vacation
Posted 5 months agoHey guys! Just a quick announcement journal this time.
First, there won't be any Sexual Tyrannosaurus comic updates in January. lomasderzumalos26, who's been instrumental in the comic's production, is taking a well-earned break for the month, which means no Patreon posts, which also means no comic updates until Feb 6th.
I'll also be taking a break to visit strikercue12 and go to FurCon with him! After the con we're visiting San Francisco and doing touristy stuff in the Bay Area.
That's it! Unless you had questions for me, of course...
First, there won't be any Sexual Tyrannosaurus comic updates in January. lomasderzumalos26, who's been instrumental in the comic's production, is taking a well-earned break for the month, which means no Patreon posts, which also means no comic updates until Feb 6th.
I'll also be taking a break to visit strikercue12 and go to FurCon with him! After the con we're visiting San Francisco and doing touristy stuff in the Bay Area.
That's it! Unless you had questions for me, of course...
Anyone Going to FC?
Posted 5 months agoReese and I are headed to Further Confusion in San Jose again this year, and among the people that we hung out with last year precisely zero of them are attending this time, lol.
Last time was the first con I'd been to in about a decade, so now that I've gotten a little practice I'd love to hang out with folks, provided anyone else is going to the con this year. I'm going to try and hit up all the transformation panels, but if they're anything like last year it might just be more fun to chill with some like-minded TF folk informally.
And since it's been a while since I asked a TF question in a journal: What's something that you would NOT want to transform into, and what would it take for you to agree to it?
Track of the Week:
Track: Rachmaninoff: Etude-Tableaux Op.39 No.8 in D Minor
Performer: Arcadi Volodos
Year: 1998
Last time was the first con I'd been to in about a decade, so now that I've gotten a little practice I'd love to hang out with folks, provided anyone else is going to the con this year. I'm going to try and hit up all the transformation panels, but if they're anything like last year it might just be more fun to chill with some like-minded TF folk informally.
And since it's been a while since I asked a TF question in a journal: What's something that you would NOT want to transform into, and what would it take for you to agree to it?
Track of the Week:
Track: Rachmaninoff: Etude-Tableaux Op.39 No.8 in D Minor
Performer: Arcadi Volodos
Year: 1998
On Identifying Fascism
Posted 9 months agoI don't have any original ideas about fascism. The more I examine it, the more I realize that this path has been beaten before and studied by people much more dedicated and directly impacted than me. Therefore, I want to preface that this journal may contain my opinions, but that the underlying ideas are not my own. In particular, they belong to Robert O. Paxton and Stanley Payne.
These days especially, we are all on guard, vigilant to what we see as the return of a monster. Who can blame us? Nothing has wrought as much destruction or scarred the human spirit as deeply as fascism. These scars run long and deep, but memories of fascism fade. We're left with a terrible suspicion that the monster has returned, yet the people who could best confirm it are almost entirely gone.
The word 'fascism' has been thrown around a lot as a result, often with justification, but we have to be careful. To abuse the term, wielding it against anyone who disagrees with us, risks destroying its meaning, diluting it, and most importantly creating a smokescreen under which actual fascists can operate with impunity. Before we can fight the monster, we must first be able to identify it.
How do you define fascism? We can start by identifying what it is not: Any single idea. Some ideologies can be identified by a clear end goal. The realization of Marxism is a classless society. The realization of Anarchy is a stateless society. Fascism, however, has no clear end goal, nor is it built around a single idea. It is built around a collection of ideas. The suppression of political opposition alone is not fascism. A fascination with symbolism and paraphernalia alone is not fascism. The systemic destruction of existing institutions and power structures alone is not fascism. Combined together, however, we start to approach what fascism is.
Fascism is not an economic system. Socialism, capitalism, libertarianism, agrarianism, and distributivism have all been used by fascist regimes, but these are coincidental and almost never implemented with a great deal of consideration. The emotion-driven nature of fascism combined with the concept of a never-ending revolution precludes long-term economic planning, which ends up becoming an afterthought. You can safely lay to rest any assertions that a person is a fascist because they believe in a redistribution of wealth.
So, fascism is not an economic system, lacks a clear end goal, and defies a simple definition. How do we define it, then? In a sense, we already do. We recognize the patterns, the trappings, the language, but what we lack is a generic definition, a consensus. Luckily for us, we don't have to come up with one from whole cloth because Robert O. Paxton (Professor Emeritus at Carnegie Mellon, and still-alive person at the time of this writing) has a good one. Please forgive the long quote that follows:
“...fascism is more plausibly linked to a set of "mobilizing passions" that shape fascist action than to a consistent and fully articulated philosophy. At the bottom is a passionate nationalism. Allied to it is a conspiratorial and Manichean view of history as a battle between the good and evil camps, between the pure and the corrupt, in which one's own community or nation has been the victim. In this Darwinian narrative, the chosen people have been weakened by political parties, social classes, unassimilable minorities, spoiled rentiers, and rationalist thinkers who lack the necessary sense of community. These "mobilizing passions," mostly taken for granted and not always overtly argued as intellectual propositions, form the emotional lava that set fascism's foundations:
-a sense of overwhelming crisis beyond the reach of any traditional solutions;
-the primacy of the group, toward which one has duties superior to every right, whether individual or universal, and the subordination of the individual to it;
-the belief that one's group is a victim, a sentiment that justifies any action, without legal or moral limits, against its enemies, both internal and external;
-dread of the group's decline under the corrosive effects of individualistic liberalism, class conflict, and alien influences;
-the need for closer integration of a purer community, by consent if possible, or by exclusionary violence if necessary;
-the need for authority by natural leaders (always male), culminating in a national chief who alone is capable of incarnating the groups' destiny;
-the superiority of the leader's instincts over abstract and universal reason;
-the beauty of violence and the efficacy of will, when they are devoted to the group's success;
-the right of the chosen people to dominate others without restraint from any kind of human or divine law, right being decided by the sole criterion of the group's prowess within a Darwinian struggle.
...Fascism was an affair of the gut more than the brain, and a study of the roots of fascism that treats only the thinkers and the writers misses the most powerful impulses of all.”
-The Anatomy of Fascism
Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
So how do we apply this? Well, if fascism is not one thing but a combination of things, then we can refer to this as a sort of checklist. From it, we can assign a score from 1-9, with 1 being 'probably not fash' and 9 being 'definitely fash'. Informally, these are my categories:
0-3: Probably not fash. Accusing these people of being fascists is risky.
4-6: Maybe fash. These folks show some troubling signs of fascism. Things could go either way, but it's not an ideal position to be in.
7-9: Definitely fash. At this point, it's very reasonable to assume that they are fascists. Because they are.
Let's see how this works with a few familiar examples:
Furry Fandom
Overwhelming Crisis - Yes. There is a widespread perception of a grave crisis and a lack of faith in existing institutions to resolve it.
Primacy of the Group - No. Few communities are as individualistic as the Furry Fandom.
Victimhood - No. While many in the LGBTQ community legitimately claim to be victims of violence, the consensus is that this does not justify retaliatory violence.
Decline - No. While Furries recognize that the overall quality of life hasn't improved or has gotten worse over the decades, they ascribe this deterioration to an increase in fascism and emotion over reason.
Purity - No. More like debauchery! But seriously, the idea of furries conforming to a set of strict criteria (certain age, certain wealth, certain spine angle, etc.) continues to come up and is rejected by an overwhelming majority.
Male Authority - No. We will gladly submit to a hunky wolf man in the bedroom, but not in the marketplace of ideas.
Instinct over Reason - No. Furries may not appear to be the most reasonable, but there are vanishingly few people in the fandom that we would trust all our decisions to, and that itself shows reason.
Violence - No. Furries in general do not extol violence.
Domination - No. Furries in general do not see themselves as above the law and do not support a zero sum struggle for supremacy.
Total score: 1.
It should surprise no one that the Furry Fandom does not meet the criteria of fascism. Some claim that there is no internet subculture more hostile to fascism, and this score indicates that. However, let's not get too comfortable. This score could always be worse, and online communities can be especially vulnerable to sea changes in ideology.
Ron deSantis
Overwhelming Crisis - No. While he clearly believes there is a crisis, he has had no compunction about using Florida's institutions to try and 'resolve' it, indicating a belief in institutional power.
Primacy of the Group - Yes. Openly uses his power to appoint officials not based on their qualifications but on their disposition to him and his faction.
Victimhood - Yes. Frequently justifies his actions by claiming that he is protecting victims, i.e. children (from books and the ideas they contain), the unborn (from those who give birth to them), and himself (from criticism).
Decline - Yes. Frequently refers to and has defined his presidential bid as the answer to 'Wokeness', a suite of liberal ideas which he believes are eroding the foundations of public trust.
Purity - Yes. While it's difficult to ascertain his personal intentions, the result of his migrant worker policy and publicity stunt deportations to places like Martha's Vineyard have drawn a very clear line between an in-group and an out-group and resulted in economic catastrophe in Florida, especially in agriculture and construction.
Male Authority - Yes. While DeSantis does not exude much in the way of machismo, his stance on abortion and his efforts to illegalize it give great substance to the notion that in his mind women are subservient to men. Also, in his election bid he has attempted (without much success) to position himself as a strong man capable of wielding power more effectively than his rival, Donald Trump. He may be laughably inept at convincing us of it, but he wants us to believe he is a strong man.
Instinct over Reason - Yes. In a state already afflicted by the tangible effects of climate change, he has continued to deny its existence and vilified the science behind it as part of the woke-ness he continues to rail against. (Whether or not you or DeSantis believe in climate change is irrelevant here. What is relevant is that home insurance companies and their actuaries do believe in it, and have been very busy finding a way to divest themselves from Florida).
Violence - Yes. If we are to assume that by doing nothing to stop violence when you have the ability to do so is itself a form of violence, then we can't give DeSantis the benefit of the doubt here. Attacks on libraries, school faculty, the LGBTQ community, and ethnic minorities have increased significantly under DeSantis' watch, incubated by the conditions he helped create, galvanized by his rhetoric, and reinforced by the slow or nonexistent response of state institutions. To this we must also add his failure to act in the face of a deadly pandemic, and how that inaction led to avoidable deaths.
Domination - Yes. Through his faith in separate, but unequal treatment under the law, and through his lack of compunction about the use of bullying or direct force, there's a case to be made that he sees himself not just as sole proprietor of the law, but someone who's above it.
Total Score: 8.
DeSantis may not refer to himself as a fascist, but he walks like one, talks like one, and acts like one. His achievement of power through an election provides a thin veneer of insulation against charges of fascism, but he fulfills so many of the criteria that it's very reasonable to call it like it is.
Star Wars Fans
Do I have a particular beef with Star Wars fans? No. Do I personally identify as a Star Wars fan? No. Let's use this as test of the criteria against a pop culture institution.
Overwhelming Crisis - Yes. The galaxy is filled with injustice and despair, and the powers that be have failed to protect the people from the multifarious evils surrounding them. Closer to home, there is a distinct tendency to revere the original that borders on the religious, and this breeds distrust of change and iteration. The natural impetus of change becomes a crisis that supersedes the actual crises laid out in the story.
Primacy of the Group - No. Because most fans are only superficially interested in the themes and content, i.e. preoccupied with aesthetics, collectibles, and the charisma of certain characters, no strong group identity forms, nor does a set of defining ideologies. Even defined out-groups, such as 'Trekkies', often overlap significantly with the Star Wars fan community and are not excluded.
Victimhood - No. If anything, Star Wars rules the world. The rest of us are at the mercy of this soft power leviathan. It's their world, and we're living in it.
Decline - Yes. Connected to the overwhelming crisis, Star Wars fan culture exists in a perpetual state of decline. Any new property bearing the brand faces intense skepticism from the community. More often than not, these neophytes wither in response, never exceeding the mythic esteem enjoyed by whichever Star Wars movie each fan experienced first. In essence, there is a surplus of skepticism directed towards the new and a deficit of skepticism directed at the old. This creates an overall image of decline, and breeds distrust in change, novelty, and innovation.
Purity - Yes. In the end, Star Wars is a brand with owners who decide what is and is not canon. This structure devalues the contributions of fans and leads to energetic discussions over the purity, earnestness, and eligibility of tastemakers. These discussions make no difference since fans have no say in who gets to make the sausage and what stuff goes into it, but it does foster a sense of elitism and a group of self-styled protectors of the brand that exists in opposition to newer fans.
Male Authority - No. While there exists a broad skepticism of the character of Rey in the recent trilogy, both the creators and the fan community have taken significant efforts to distance themselves from the idea that men are superior to women, starting with the very first film. To say otherwise gives undue credence to the misogynist elements that, let's face it, exist in many fandoms.
Instinct over Reason - Yes. The kernel of Star Wars is the Force, a supernatural entity that adheres to no logical framework and is driven by the emotions of its wielders. This is part of Star Wars' appeal, and while both fans and tastemakers have at times tried to impose structure upon the Force, who has it, and how it functions, the concept has defied them and the fans have never really connected with them. Belief in instinct is central to Star Wars fandom.
Violence - No. This may seem surprising, given the scale of the violence in Star Wars and how it's applied, but we're not discussing the films, shows, and merch so much as the fandom surrounding it. Star Wars fans admire the paraphernalia and symbology of the Resistance and the Empire but by and large do not extol violence or use these symbols to support violence against those it deems inferior.
Domination - No. Star Wars fans in general do not see themselves as a chosen people with exceptional status that places them above the law. They may harangue people about not being fans of their chosen franchise, but they also don't demand fandom or show a tendency to threaten force against the noncompliant.
Total score: 4.
Star Wars fans may find this lack of faith disturbing. Then again, they may find it a perfect representation of the story they love: A knife-edge conflict between the forces of light and dark. The greatest indictment may be of Star Wars itself, how it was created in direct opposition to fascism yet, through its exultation of instinct, epic struggle, and military spectacle, creates a creche for that very fascism to be nurtured in. Perhaps I'm more of a Trekkie than I thought.
Conclusion
The criteria are not perfect. They are subject to the interpretations of the people applying them. Of course, what criteria aren't? And what use do we have for criteria that can only be analyzed by an imaginary body of qualified neutral beings? Paxton's nine Mobilizing Passions do represent an earnest and useful tool that anyone can use to identify fascism, to apply reason to an entity that is inherently unreasonable.
1.Overwhelming Crisis
2.Primacy of the Group
3.Victimhood
4.Decline
5.Purity
6.Male Authority
7.Instinct over Reason
8.Violence
I encourage you to apply them to evaluate a figure, a group, or even yourself. Trust in yourself and your ability to reason. Because the fascists don't, and that's reason enough.
These days especially, we are all on guard, vigilant to what we see as the return of a monster. Who can blame us? Nothing has wrought as much destruction or scarred the human spirit as deeply as fascism. These scars run long and deep, but memories of fascism fade. We're left with a terrible suspicion that the monster has returned, yet the people who could best confirm it are almost entirely gone.
The word 'fascism' has been thrown around a lot as a result, often with justification, but we have to be careful. To abuse the term, wielding it against anyone who disagrees with us, risks destroying its meaning, diluting it, and most importantly creating a smokescreen under which actual fascists can operate with impunity. Before we can fight the monster, we must first be able to identify it.
How do you define fascism? We can start by identifying what it is not: Any single idea. Some ideologies can be identified by a clear end goal. The realization of Marxism is a classless society. The realization of Anarchy is a stateless society. Fascism, however, has no clear end goal, nor is it built around a single idea. It is built around a collection of ideas. The suppression of political opposition alone is not fascism. A fascination with symbolism and paraphernalia alone is not fascism. The systemic destruction of existing institutions and power structures alone is not fascism. Combined together, however, we start to approach what fascism is.
Fascism is not an economic system. Socialism, capitalism, libertarianism, agrarianism, and distributivism have all been used by fascist regimes, but these are coincidental and almost never implemented with a great deal of consideration. The emotion-driven nature of fascism combined with the concept of a never-ending revolution precludes long-term economic planning, which ends up becoming an afterthought. You can safely lay to rest any assertions that a person is a fascist because they believe in a redistribution of wealth.
So, fascism is not an economic system, lacks a clear end goal, and defies a simple definition. How do we define it, then? In a sense, we already do. We recognize the patterns, the trappings, the language, but what we lack is a generic definition, a consensus. Luckily for us, we don't have to come up with one from whole cloth because Robert O. Paxton (Professor Emeritus at Carnegie Mellon, and still-alive person at the time of this writing) has a good one. Please forgive the long quote that follows:
“...fascism is more plausibly linked to a set of "mobilizing passions" that shape fascist action than to a consistent and fully articulated philosophy. At the bottom is a passionate nationalism. Allied to it is a conspiratorial and Manichean view of history as a battle between the good and evil camps, between the pure and the corrupt, in which one's own community or nation has been the victim. In this Darwinian narrative, the chosen people have been weakened by political parties, social classes, unassimilable minorities, spoiled rentiers, and rationalist thinkers who lack the necessary sense of community. These "mobilizing passions," mostly taken for granted and not always overtly argued as intellectual propositions, form the emotional lava that set fascism's foundations:
-a sense of overwhelming crisis beyond the reach of any traditional solutions;
-the primacy of the group, toward which one has duties superior to every right, whether individual or universal, and the subordination of the individual to it;
-the belief that one's group is a victim, a sentiment that justifies any action, without legal or moral limits, against its enemies, both internal and external;
-dread of the group's decline under the corrosive effects of individualistic liberalism, class conflict, and alien influences;
-the need for closer integration of a purer community, by consent if possible, or by exclusionary violence if necessary;
-the need for authority by natural leaders (always male), culminating in a national chief who alone is capable of incarnating the groups' destiny;
-the superiority of the leader's instincts over abstract and universal reason;
-the beauty of violence and the efficacy of will, when they are devoted to the group's success;
-the right of the chosen people to dominate others without restraint from any kind of human or divine law, right being decided by the sole criterion of the group's prowess within a Darwinian struggle.
...Fascism was an affair of the gut more than the brain, and a study of the roots of fascism that treats only the thinkers and the writers misses the most powerful impulses of all.”
-The Anatomy of Fascism
Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
So how do we apply this? Well, if fascism is not one thing but a combination of things, then we can refer to this as a sort of checklist. From it, we can assign a score from 1-9, with 1 being 'probably not fash' and 9 being 'definitely fash'. Informally, these are my categories:
0-3: Probably not fash. Accusing these people of being fascists is risky.
4-6: Maybe fash. These folks show some troubling signs of fascism. Things could go either way, but it's not an ideal position to be in.
7-9: Definitely fash. At this point, it's very reasonable to assume that they are fascists. Because they are.
Let's see how this works with a few familiar examples:
Furry Fandom
Overwhelming Crisis - Yes. There is a widespread perception of a grave crisis and a lack of faith in existing institutions to resolve it.
Primacy of the Group - No. Few communities are as individualistic as the Furry Fandom.
Victimhood - No. While many in the LGBTQ community legitimately claim to be victims of violence, the consensus is that this does not justify retaliatory violence.
Decline - No. While Furries recognize that the overall quality of life hasn't improved or has gotten worse over the decades, they ascribe this deterioration to an increase in fascism and emotion over reason.
Purity - No. More like debauchery! But seriously, the idea of furries conforming to a set of strict criteria (certain age, certain wealth, certain spine angle, etc.) continues to come up and is rejected by an overwhelming majority.
Male Authority - No. We will gladly submit to a hunky wolf man in the bedroom, but not in the marketplace of ideas.
Instinct over Reason - No. Furries may not appear to be the most reasonable, but there are vanishingly few people in the fandom that we would trust all our decisions to, and that itself shows reason.
Violence - No. Furries in general do not extol violence.
Domination - No. Furries in general do not see themselves as above the law and do not support a zero sum struggle for supremacy.
Total score: 1.
It should surprise no one that the Furry Fandom does not meet the criteria of fascism. Some claim that there is no internet subculture more hostile to fascism, and this score indicates that. However, let's not get too comfortable. This score could always be worse, and online communities can be especially vulnerable to sea changes in ideology.
Ron deSantis
Overwhelming Crisis - No. While he clearly believes there is a crisis, he has had no compunction about using Florida's institutions to try and 'resolve' it, indicating a belief in institutional power.
Primacy of the Group - Yes. Openly uses his power to appoint officials not based on their qualifications but on their disposition to him and his faction.
Victimhood - Yes. Frequently justifies his actions by claiming that he is protecting victims, i.e. children (from books and the ideas they contain), the unborn (from those who give birth to them), and himself (from criticism).
Decline - Yes. Frequently refers to and has defined his presidential bid as the answer to 'Wokeness', a suite of liberal ideas which he believes are eroding the foundations of public trust.
Purity - Yes. While it's difficult to ascertain his personal intentions, the result of his migrant worker policy and publicity stunt deportations to places like Martha's Vineyard have drawn a very clear line between an in-group and an out-group and resulted in economic catastrophe in Florida, especially in agriculture and construction.
Male Authority - Yes. While DeSantis does not exude much in the way of machismo, his stance on abortion and his efforts to illegalize it give great substance to the notion that in his mind women are subservient to men. Also, in his election bid he has attempted (without much success) to position himself as a strong man capable of wielding power more effectively than his rival, Donald Trump. He may be laughably inept at convincing us of it, but he wants us to believe he is a strong man.
Instinct over Reason - Yes. In a state already afflicted by the tangible effects of climate change, he has continued to deny its existence and vilified the science behind it as part of the woke-ness he continues to rail against. (Whether or not you or DeSantis believe in climate change is irrelevant here. What is relevant is that home insurance companies and their actuaries do believe in it, and have been very busy finding a way to divest themselves from Florida).
Violence - Yes. If we are to assume that by doing nothing to stop violence when you have the ability to do so is itself a form of violence, then we can't give DeSantis the benefit of the doubt here. Attacks on libraries, school faculty, the LGBTQ community, and ethnic minorities have increased significantly under DeSantis' watch, incubated by the conditions he helped create, galvanized by his rhetoric, and reinforced by the slow or nonexistent response of state institutions. To this we must also add his failure to act in the face of a deadly pandemic, and how that inaction led to avoidable deaths.
Domination - Yes. Through his faith in separate, but unequal treatment under the law, and through his lack of compunction about the use of bullying or direct force, there's a case to be made that he sees himself not just as sole proprietor of the law, but someone who's above it.
Total Score: 8.
DeSantis may not refer to himself as a fascist, but he walks like one, talks like one, and acts like one. His achievement of power through an election provides a thin veneer of insulation against charges of fascism, but he fulfills so many of the criteria that it's very reasonable to call it like it is.
Star Wars Fans
Do I have a particular beef with Star Wars fans? No. Do I personally identify as a Star Wars fan? No. Let's use this as test of the criteria against a pop culture institution.
Overwhelming Crisis - Yes. The galaxy is filled with injustice and despair, and the powers that be have failed to protect the people from the multifarious evils surrounding them. Closer to home, there is a distinct tendency to revere the original that borders on the religious, and this breeds distrust of change and iteration. The natural impetus of change becomes a crisis that supersedes the actual crises laid out in the story.
Primacy of the Group - No. Because most fans are only superficially interested in the themes and content, i.e. preoccupied with aesthetics, collectibles, and the charisma of certain characters, no strong group identity forms, nor does a set of defining ideologies. Even defined out-groups, such as 'Trekkies', often overlap significantly with the Star Wars fan community and are not excluded.
Victimhood - No. If anything, Star Wars rules the world. The rest of us are at the mercy of this soft power leviathan. It's their world, and we're living in it.
Decline - Yes. Connected to the overwhelming crisis, Star Wars fan culture exists in a perpetual state of decline. Any new property bearing the brand faces intense skepticism from the community. More often than not, these neophytes wither in response, never exceeding the mythic esteem enjoyed by whichever Star Wars movie each fan experienced first. In essence, there is a surplus of skepticism directed towards the new and a deficit of skepticism directed at the old. This creates an overall image of decline, and breeds distrust in change, novelty, and innovation.
Purity - Yes. In the end, Star Wars is a brand with owners who decide what is and is not canon. This structure devalues the contributions of fans and leads to energetic discussions over the purity, earnestness, and eligibility of tastemakers. These discussions make no difference since fans have no say in who gets to make the sausage and what stuff goes into it, but it does foster a sense of elitism and a group of self-styled protectors of the brand that exists in opposition to newer fans.
Male Authority - No. While there exists a broad skepticism of the character of Rey in the recent trilogy, both the creators and the fan community have taken significant efforts to distance themselves from the idea that men are superior to women, starting with the very first film. To say otherwise gives undue credence to the misogynist elements that, let's face it, exist in many fandoms.
Instinct over Reason - Yes. The kernel of Star Wars is the Force, a supernatural entity that adheres to no logical framework and is driven by the emotions of its wielders. This is part of Star Wars' appeal, and while both fans and tastemakers have at times tried to impose structure upon the Force, who has it, and how it functions, the concept has defied them and the fans have never really connected with them. Belief in instinct is central to Star Wars fandom.
Violence - No. This may seem surprising, given the scale of the violence in Star Wars and how it's applied, but we're not discussing the films, shows, and merch so much as the fandom surrounding it. Star Wars fans admire the paraphernalia and symbology of the Resistance and the Empire but by and large do not extol violence or use these symbols to support violence against those it deems inferior.
Domination - No. Star Wars fans in general do not see themselves as a chosen people with exceptional status that places them above the law. They may harangue people about not being fans of their chosen franchise, but they also don't demand fandom or show a tendency to threaten force against the noncompliant.
Total score: 4.
Star Wars fans may find this lack of faith disturbing. Then again, they may find it a perfect representation of the story they love: A knife-edge conflict between the forces of light and dark. The greatest indictment may be of Star Wars itself, how it was created in direct opposition to fascism yet, through its exultation of instinct, epic struggle, and military spectacle, creates a creche for that very fascism to be nurtured in. Perhaps I'm more of a Trekkie than I thought.
Conclusion
The criteria are not perfect. They are subject to the interpretations of the people applying them. Of course, what criteria aren't? And what use do we have for criteria that can only be analyzed by an imaginary body of qualified neutral beings? Paxton's nine Mobilizing Passions do represent an earnest and useful tool that anyone can use to identify fascism, to apply reason to an entity that is inherently unreasonable.
1.Overwhelming Crisis
2.Primacy of the Group
3.Victimhood
4.Decline
5.Purity
6.Male Authority
7.Instinct over Reason
8.Violence
I encourage you to apply them to evaluate a figure, a group, or even yourself. Trust in yourself and your ability to reason. Because the fascists don't, and that's reason enough.
A Case for Irredeemable Villains
Posted a year agoA bit of a departure from the usual TF subject matter, but I figured I'd broach the subject anyway.
What makes a villain, and what are they for? To some people the term Antagonist and Villain are interchangeable, which I can understand since both of them are obstacles to the Protagonist's progress, and often are diametrically opposed to them. The broad distinction between a villain and an antagonist is intent. A boulder blocking a road can be an antagonist. A person who tips a boulder onto a road to impede someone is a villain.
So at their core a villain is a person with agency and decision-making power, one who chooses to act against the protagonist. There's a whole universe of discussion about what people think is a 'bad' villain versus what is a 'good' one, but that's the kernel of what a villain is. That means a mustache-twirling, belly-laughing cartoon knave who ties people to train tracks is as valid a villain as a charismatic, misguided, tragic person who justifies evil acts as necessary foundations for their utopian vision. What makes one an effective villain and the other a buffoon is the subject of countless thought pieces.
Still, if a villain isn't strictly necessary as a narrative device, why do we love them so much? What purpose do they fulfill? If storytellers are the products of the times they live in, then villains are anthropomorphic representations of qualities they deem un-heroic or contrary to their values. You can't always infer the beliefs of the storyteller from the nature of the villain, but you can infer what they think is important to share with the audience. In some way, villains fundamentally reflect reality as the storyteller sees it AND how they believe audiences see it.
Over the last 20-30 years, we've seen a lot of storytellers' interpretations of what makes a villain, some of which are enduring and even beloved. One thing I've noticed is that villains who are irredeemably evil, characters who do not have a tragic backstory, a moral justification for their acts, or an ignorance of the consequences of their actions, became unfashionable. Audiences grew weary of unambiguous villainy and demanded more sympathetic, complex, charismatic, and tragic arch-enemies. Storytellers responded, and the results were some truly excellent and unforgettable villains. This is not a bad thing.
However, I think the absence of irredeemable villains is a bad thing. If stories are representative of our own journeys through life and guides for how we can deal with adversity, then an absence of truly hideous people from stories can lead us to believe that hope and redemption exist in places where they do not. Faced with real-life villains issuing ultimatums that demand our deaths, we lack an important tool and instead fall back on what we know. We spend time engaging with them, hoping to change their minds, hoping they will be moved by our suffering when it's not a mistake but the whole point of their cruelty. We pour over their biographies hoping to find abuse and transgression, something to explain why they behave in such a nasty way, but come up empty because no historical record can justify the evil they continue to do. We interpret their hatred and nastiness as charisma and rhetorical strategy, unable to comprehend that there is no nuance in their messaging: They really do just want to kill us. And they relish in it.
This isn't a suggestion that we get rid of more nuanced villains. We still need representations of human error, tragedy, and missed opportunities at redemption. Those are as relevant as ever. However, we're fooling ourselves if we think that all villains are worth deconstructing, just as we're fooling ourselves if we think that everyone, deep down, wants to be loved and understood. In the time it takes to turn over every stone and realize that some people are more evil than we were capable of imagining, they'll have already robbed us of our loved ones, our ideals, and our future. We've already lost so much.
So bring back these villains, I say. Show us some horrible, sadistic, greedy, treacherous fiends. Show us that as nasty as they are, people can still stop them. Give us the satisfaction of watching them fall, and show us their faces as they have one final glimmer where they realize they could have done it all so differently, where they realize it's too late and this is all they'll ever be. The time is right. We've got so many living examples to draw from, and the stakes have never been higher.
*****
Track of the Week:
Track: Skid Row (Downtown)
Album: Little Shop of Horrors - New Broadway Cast
Original Release Year: 1982
Yeah, I like musicals... and since Little Shop of Horrors was free on YouTube recently I went back and rewatched it for the first time in decades. I feel like it's only gotten better with age, and the songs are quick, lively, catchy, and poignant.
What makes a villain, and what are they for? To some people the term Antagonist and Villain are interchangeable, which I can understand since both of them are obstacles to the Protagonist's progress, and often are diametrically opposed to them. The broad distinction between a villain and an antagonist is intent. A boulder blocking a road can be an antagonist. A person who tips a boulder onto a road to impede someone is a villain.
So at their core a villain is a person with agency and decision-making power, one who chooses to act against the protagonist. There's a whole universe of discussion about what people think is a 'bad' villain versus what is a 'good' one, but that's the kernel of what a villain is. That means a mustache-twirling, belly-laughing cartoon knave who ties people to train tracks is as valid a villain as a charismatic, misguided, tragic person who justifies evil acts as necessary foundations for their utopian vision. What makes one an effective villain and the other a buffoon is the subject of countless thought pieces.
Still, if a villain isn't strictly necessary as a narrative device, why do we love them so much? What purpose do they fulfill? If storytellers are the products of the times they live in, then villains are anthropomorphic representations of qualities they deem un-heroic or contrary to their values. You can't always infer the beliefs of the storyteller from the nature of the villain, but you can infer what they think is important to share with the audience. In some way, villains fundamentally reflect reality as the storyteller sees it AND how they believe audiences see it.
Over the last 20-30 years, we've seen a lot of storytellers' interpretations of what makes a villain, some of which are enduring and even beloved. One thing I've noticed is that villains who are irredeemably evil, characters who do not have a tragic backstory, a moral justification for their acts, or an ignorance of the consequences of their actions, became unfashionable. Audiences grew weary of unambiguous villainy and demanded more sympathetic, complex, charismatic, and tragic arch-enemies. Storytellers responded, and the results were some truly excellent and unforgettable villains. This is not a bad thing.
However, I think the absence of irredeemable villains is a bad thing. If stories are representative of our own journeys through life and guides for how we can deal with adversity, then an absence of truly hideous people from stories can lead us to believe that hope and redemption exist in places where they do not. Faced with real-life villains issuing ultimatums that demand our deaths, we lack an important tool and instead fall back on what we know. We spend time engaging with them, hoping to change their minds, hoping they will be moved by our suffering when it's not a mistake but the whole point of their cruelty. We pour over their biographies hoping to find abuse and transgression, something to explain why they behave in such a nasty way, but come up empty because no historical record can justify the evil they continue to do. We interpret their hatred and nastiness as charisma and rhetorical strategy, unable to comprehend that there is no nuance in their messaging: They really do just want to kill us. And they relish in it.
This isn't a suggestion that we get rid of more nuanced villains. We still need representations of human error, tragedy, and missed opportunities at redemption. Those are as relevant as ever. However, we're fooling ourselves if we think that all villains are worth deconstructing, just as we're fooling ourselves if we think that everyone, deep down, wants to be loved and understood. In the time it takes to turn over every stone and realize that some people are more evil than we were capable of imagining, they'll have already robbed us of our loved ones, our ideals, and our future. We've already lost so much.
So bring back these villains, I say. Show us some horrible, sadistic, greedy, treacherous fiends. Show us that as nasty as they are, people can still stop them. Give us the satisfaction of watching them fall, and show us their faces as they have one final glimmer where they realize they could have done it all so differently, where they realize it's too late and this is all they'll ever be. The time is right. We've got so many living examples to draw from, and the stakes have never been higher.
*****
Track of the Week:
Track: Skid Row (Downtown)
Album: Little Shop of Horrors - New Broadway Cast
Original Release Year: 1982
Yeah, I like musicals... and since Little Shop of Horrors was free on YouTube recently I went back and rewatched it for the first time in decades. I feel like it's only gotten better with age, and the songs are quick, lively, catchy, and poignant.
Podcasts & Projects
Posted a year agoHey, guys! Aside from the art uploads I've been pretty quiet on the writing and community fronts, and for that, I just want to say that work has been very, very demanding over the last few months and it's had a deleterious effect on my mental well-being. I don't want to get too far into it, but the exhaustion has bled into my writing, my free time, and my daily interactions with folks. It's done a number on my self-esteem and part of that is why I've been more hesitant to put myself out there as of late.
The good news is, there may be an end in sight. Perhaps presumptuously, I even agreed to be a guest on the TF Tuesday Podcast, which just aired the interview with me today. Though it's not my best performance, it was enlightening to meet Zilepo and Libra, and hey, maybe this will open the door for more TF writers on the show in the future.
It seems I'm not the only one buried in work these days. Just about everyone I ask is caught in the grind, which leads me to wonder: What's your transformation comfort food? Is there an image, an idea, a story, or a fully-realized fantasy that you keep coming back to when times are tough? Are there several? Is it something you'd like to share?
For me, there are a handful of TF fantasies, most of which I've already represented in some way through my storytelling, like Alain's underwear-triggered TF or some good old-fashioned locker room werewolf fun. The common thread that links them together is that they combine the transformation itself with intense, irrepressible arousal, and something about that is pretty effective at helping me de-stress, like no matter how much people yell at me, no matter how much I dread the next day or hour, the ecstasy of transformation helps me step away from that. It might account for why super painful TFs, while compelling and realistic, don't feature as prominently as blissful ones.
*****
Track of the Week:
Track: Falling
Artist: Retrograde88
Release Year: 2023
The good news is, there may be an end in sight. Perhaps presumptuously, I even agreed to be a guest on the TF Tuesday Podcast, which just aired the interview with me today. Though it's not my best performance, it was enlightening to meet Zilepo and Libra, and hey, maybe this will open the door for more TF writers on the show in the future.
It seems I'm not the only one buried in work these days. Just about everyone I ask is caught in the grind, which leads me to wonder: What's your transformation comfort food? Is there an image, an idea, a story, or a fully-realized fantasy that you keep coming back to when times are tough? Are there several? Is it something you'd like to share?
For me, there are a handful of TF fantasies, most of which I've already represented in some way through my storytelling, like Alain's underwear-triggered TF or some good old-fashioned locker room werewolf fun. The common thread that links them together is that they combine the transformation itself with intense, irrepressible arousal, and something about that is pretty effective at helping me de-stress, like no matter how much people yell at me, no matter how much I dread the next day or hour, the ecstasy of transformation helps me step away from that. It might account for why super painful TFs, while compelling and realistic, don't feature as prominently as blissful ones.
*****
Track of the Week:
Track: Falling
Artist: Retrograde88
Release Year: 2023
Selling Tom
Posted a year agoHey guys, just a quick update!
So I gave it a long think and I realize that it's against my principles to have a fursona of an animal that never existed and whose bones were only put here to tempt people away from God. My newfound faith does not, however, limit me from selling this idol to the highest bidder. The Prophet tells me it's OK as long as I donate all the proceeds to the cause.
Therefore, I'm putting Tom the T-Rex up for sale. I was just going to list him at $20 to cover administration costs, but the Prophet said that was a lowball offer and that $5000 would buy a lot more equipment for the bitcoin mining rig. Since I've forfeited all of my decision making power to him, that's the price I'm going with.
I'd prefer selling to someone with good Christian credentials so I can be assured that this powerful idol will be properly contained. As for me, I won't need a fursona once I move into the compound, nor will I need internet access, so it's farewell until I can atone for my many transformation-related sins, which could be a very long time.
Since I will imminently be without internet, telephone service, and any material frivolity, please mail your purchase inquiries, proofs of Christianity, and down payments to:
Hierophant Steed
Bliss Ranch
S 7000 W Rd, Hinckley, UT 84635
So I gave it a long think and I realize that it's against my principles to have a fursona of an animal that never existed and whose bones were only put here to tempt people away from God. My newfound faith does not, however, limit me from selling this idol to the highest bidder. The Prophet tells me it's OK as long as I donate all the proceeds to the cause.
Therefore, I'm putting Tom the T-Rex up for sale. I was just going to list him at $20 to cover administration costs, but the Prophet said that was a lowball offer and that $5000 would buy a lot more equipment for the bitcoin mining rig. Since I've forfeited all of my decision making power to him, that's the price I'm going with.
I'd prefer selling to someone with good Christian credentials so I can be assured that this powerful idol will be properly contained. As for me, I won't need a fursona once I move into the compound, nor will I need internet access, so it's farewell until I can atone for my many transformation-related sins, which could be a very long time.
Since I will imminently be without internet, telephone service, and any material frivolity, please mail your purchase inquiries, proofs of Christianity, and down payments to:
Hierophant Steed
Bliss Ranch
S 7000 W Rd, Hinckley, UT 84635
Help Me Understand
Posted a year agoI need your guys' help with something.
As time has progressed I've realized that there are a lot of spaces in the TF fandom, some of which don't appeal to me, some of which appeal to me in a big way, and others of which have grown on me over time. My tastes now are different than they were three, five, or ten years ago, but until recently it never really 'clicked' that some of these other spaces are as popular as they are.
Some of the areas that don't usually appeal to me are:
-NSFW Feral TF
-Brain wipe/Identity death
-Inanimate object TF
-Non-Con or DubCon
Yes, this journal is motivated by a recent event, though perhaps not the one you think. It was when I went to one of the transformation panels at FurCon, a SFW event, that I realized that not only were some folks in the room who were very interested in one or more of the areas above, but that I was in the minority. What ensued was a lively (and civil) discussion focused primarily on inanimate object TF that made it clear to me that a lot of people are enthusiastic about this area and have been for most of their lives. In a sense, my effort to connect with other TF fans showed me just how alienated I actually am.
So, whether you are or aren't interested in the material listed above, help me understand why you're into what you're into. I understand that we don't get to choose what our brains like, so the purpose of this discussion isn't to justify one's desires so much as to explore them in a positive way. What is it about a certain fantasy that appeals to you? What positive experiences have you had while exploring the content? What is most rewarding about it? What makes you stick with it through tough times?
As a disclaimer, I want to make it clear that consuming content does not make people more likely to carry out those acts IRL. We've all been at the shit end of that stick at some point or another in our lives, from the 'video games promote violence' angle to the 'Furry = bestiality' takes. Despite every effort to prove the contrary, there is no connection between watching or hearing or reading something and then committing that act as a result. Otherwise, we'd all be living in a very different world after V for Vendetta...
Track of the Week:
Track: Being Boring (Extended Mix)
Artist: Pet Shop Boys
Album: Behaviour
Release Year: 1990
Perhaps my love of the Pet Shop Boys' music was an early indicator that I was gay. Or maybe listening to PSB made me gay... JK, that's not how media works.
As time has progressed I've realized that there are a lot of spaces in the TF fandom, some of which don't appeal to me, some of which appeal to me in a big way, and others of which have grown on me over time. My tastes now are different than they were three, five, or ten years ago, but until recently it never really 'clicked' that some of these other spaces are as popular as they are.
Some of the areas that don't usually appeal to me are:
-NSFW Feral TF
-Brain wipe/Identity death
-Inanimate object TF
-Non-Con or DubCon
Yes, this journal is motivated by a recent event, though perhaps not the one you think. It was when I went to one of the transformation panels at FurCon, a SFW event, that I realized that not only were some folks in the room who were very interested in one or more of the areas above, but that I was in the minority. What ensued was a lively (and civil) discussion focused primarily on inanimate object TF that made it clear to me that a lot of people are enthusiastic about this area and have been for most of their lives. In a sense, my effort to connect with other TF fans showed me just how alienated I actually am.
So, whether you are or aren't interested in the material listed above, help me understand why you're into what you're into. I understand that we don't get to choose what our brains like, so the purpose of this discussion isn't to justify one's desires so much as to explore them in a positive way. What is it about a certain fantasy that appeals to you? What positive experiences have you had while exploring the content? What is most rewarding about it? What makes you stick with it through tough times?
As a disclaimer, I want to make it clear that consuming content does not make people more likely to carry out those acts IRL. We've all been at the shit end of that stick at some point or another in our lives, from the 'video games promote violence' angle to the 'Furry = bestiality' takes. Despite every effort to prove the contrary, there is no connection between watching or hearing or reading something and then committing that act as a result. Otherwise, we'd all be living in a very different world after V for Vendetta...
Track of the Week:
Track: Being Boring (Extended Mix)
Artist: Pet Shop Boys
Album: Behaviour
Release Year: 1990
Perhaps my love of the Pet Shop Boys' music was an early indicator that I was gay. Or maybe listening to PSB made me gay... JK, that's not how media works.
Post-Con Confession
Posted a year agoGuys, after returning from Further Confusion I have something to confess: It's been a rough couple of months, but I think the worst of it is over now.
I didn't want to remark on it earlier since it seemed like everyone was getting stressed out over the holidays and I didn't really want to add to that. Gotta admit, when your money doesn't go as far as it used to and you're on the hook to buy gifts for folks and it feels like plutocrats, bigots, and fanatics are doing everything in their power to make it worse for you and everyone you love, it's easy to see why just about everyone's been rough around the edges as of late, if not completely catatonic.
For me, though, it boils down to the following: I came up with the idea of working on two stories simultaneously, which ended up backfiring when my schedule got busy, allowing me to finish neither when I wanted to. Then there was Christmas. Then I got food poisoning. Then I had to work my dad's flower show, a demanding job that gets more thankless every year. Then I went on a two-week vacation! All of these things kind of came together to confound my efforts to work on writing projects.
Thankfully the vacation was very welcome, precious time I got to spend with strikercue12 and reconnect with the fandom, the first Furry con I've been to in almost fifteen years! It shook me out of the funk I was in and reinvigorated my faith in our long-running long distance relationship. Just a magical experience all around.
Anyway, this is more of a status report than a discussion topic. I wanted to let you know that yes, I do still plan on that lion TF story and yes, there will be TF sequences in the future! Also, to all the folks who kept reaching out to me even after telling them I was on vacation: Yes, I'm back now.
Track of the Week:
Track: I Am Free
Artists: Tinlicker feat. Jamie Irrepressible
I didn't want to remark on it earlier since it seemed like everyone was getting stressed out over the holidays and I didn't really want to add to that. Gotta admit, when your money doesn't go as far as it used to and you're on the hook to buy gifts for folks and it feels like plutocrats, bigots, and fanatics are doing everything in their power to make it worse for you and everyone you love, it's easy to see why just about everyone's been rough around the edges as of late, if not completely catatonic.
For me, though, it boils down to the following: I came up with the idea of working on two stories simultaneously, which ended up backfiring when my schedule got busy, allowing me to finish neither when I wanted to. Then there was Christmas. Then I got food poisoning. Then I had to work my dad's flower show, a demanding job that gets more thankless every year. Then I went on a two-week vacation! All of these things kind of came together to confound my efforts to work on writing projects.
Thankfully the vacation was very welcome, precious time I got to spend with strikercue12 and reconnect with the fandom, the first Furry con I've been to in almost fifteen years! It shook me out of the funk I was in and reinvigorated my faith in our long-running long distance relationship. Just a magical experience all around.
Anyway, this is more of a status report than a discussion topic. I wanted to let you know that yes, I do still plan on that lion TF story and yes, there will be TF sequences in the future! Also, to all the folks who kept reaching out to me even after telling them I was on vacation: Yes, I'm back now.
Track of the Week:
Track: I Am Free
Artists: Tinlicker feat. Jamie Irrepressible
Going to FC!
Posted a year agoBeen mulling over whether or not I wanted to announce this, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to mention it. I'll be attending Further Confusion, the first fur con I've been to in over a decade! I wonder if they'll accept my old ass...
Because it's been so long I'm just going as an attendee and enjoying what's on offer. Not gonna lie, I'm pretty excited! I'll be going with Strikercue12 and will probably spend most of my time at his side, or just attending the panels on offer on nerdy shit like writing, world building, and, of course, TF. After the con I'll be spending a few days of quality time with the BF.
It's been a crazy holiday season full of birthdays, office work, yard work, and to top it off I got a nasty case of food poisoning. I'm hoping that when I return this fog that's descended on me will have dispersed and I can get back to delivering quality TF stories! For today, at least, I've posted the next page of Sexual Tyrannosaurus a little early!
Because it's been so long I'm just going as an attendee and enjoying what's on offer. Not gonna lie, I'm pretty excited! I'll be going with Strikercue12 and will probably spend most of my time at his side, or just attending the panels on offer on nerdy shit like writing, world building, and, of course, TF. After the con I'll be spending a few days of quality time with the BF.
It's been a crazy holiday season full of birthdays, office work, yard work, and to top it off I got a nasty case of food poisoning. I'm hoping that when I return this fog that's descended on me will have dispersed and I can get back to delivering quality TF stories! For today, at least, I've posted the next page of Sexual Tyrannosaurus a little early!
Lookin' for Lions! (LIONS FOUND, NOW CLOSED)
Posted a year agoSorry for such a short and specific journal after a couple months, but (spoiler alert!) I'm lookin' for 2-3 folks with lion OCs who are OK with the following themes:
-Human to (x) Transformation
-Demi
-Humanoid heehoos (AKA, wallawallabingbangs)
-Science!™
-Being a party animal
-Maybe a little gay stuff
Plz reply or note if you're interested! I've kind of created a self-imposed deadline on this so speed will be rewarded.
-Human to (x) Transformation
-Demi
-Humanoid heehoos (AKA, wallawallabingbangs)
-Science!™
-Being a party animal
-Maybe a little gay stuff
Plz reply or note if you're interested! I've kind of created a self-imposed deadline on this so speed will be rewarded.
Exotic Transformations & Sequel Ideas
Posted a year agoIt's time for a new journal, and this time I've got a couple discussion questions for y'all:
First off, which of my stories would you most like to see a sequel to? (If it's something I've already written about extensively, like CANID-20, let me know what unique direction you suggest I take it)
Second, are there any exotic species transformations you've seen that you really took a liking to? To clarify, I mean species outside the fandom's Tetrarchy: Canines, Felines, Vulpines, and Dragons. Even if they're a side interest, what about this exotic or original species appeals to you most, and why would you find transforming into one appealing?
Finally, an announcement: Sexual Tyrannosaurus will resume posting next week. Because of a one-month hiatus on Patreon posts on Imp's Paradise, we had to delay further updates here on FA as well. Fortunately, there's a silver lining to this: We now have enough pages accumulated to update the comic three times a month! As always, the pages will appear on Patreon first, then go public two weeks later.
Track of the Week:
Track: Green and Gold
Artist: Roy Ayers
Album: Virgin Ubiquity
Release Year: 2003 (recorded 1976-1981)
First off, which of my stories would you most like to see a sequel to? (If it's something I've already written about extensively, like CANID-20, let me know what unique direction you suggest I take it)
Second, are there any exotic species transformations you've seen that you really took a liking to? To clarify, I mean species outside the fandom's Tetrarchy: Canines, Felines, Vulpines, and Dragons. Even if they're a side interest, what about this exotic or original species appeals to you most, and why would you find transforming into one appealing?
Finally, an announcement: Sexual Tyrannosaurus will resume posting next week. Because of a one-month hiatus on Patreon posts on Imp's Paradise, we had to delay further updates here on FA as well. Fortunately, there's a silver lining to this: We now have enough pages accumulated to update the comic three times a month! As always, the pages will appear on Patreon first, then go public two weeks later.
Track of the Week:
Track: Green and Gold
Artist: Roy Ayers
Album: Virgin Ubiquity
Release Year: 2003 (recorded 1976-1981)
Oh, No! I've Turned Into a Were(toaster)!
Posted a year agoAnnouncements!
First, I just posted a new CANID-20 story. Come check it out if you haven't already.
Second, I'm posting the next page of Sexual Tyrannosaurus today. Subsequent pages will be delayed, sadly, but once updates resume on Patreon again we should see a quicker release schedule since we'll have a number of pages hot and ready to bust out all over the internet.
Announcements over. Now: The discussion!
You're walking around on a foggy moor under a full moon as you usually do, just minding your own business, when out of the darkness looms a nightmare beast. No. It can't be. It's (insert the animal/object you least want to be transformed into here)! You turn and dart in the other direction, heart thrumming in your ears, adrenaline coursing through your veins as your feet seem to spin. Even as you bolt through the darkness and murk you sense the thingy's malevolent presence right behind you. A terrible thought enters your mind for the first time, but not the last: I'm not going to make it out of this.
What happens next feels as inevitable as is it cliche. Your foot catches a rock and you spill to the floor, world whirling around you. The thingy catches up with you and sinks its fangs or its flat herbivore teeth or its sharp plastic edges or whatever into your shoulder and you black out.
You awaken in a hospital. A doctor informs you that you are making a suspiciously fast recovery. Medical science can't explain what's happening to you, but deep down, you know. It's just a matter of time until the next full moon, when the milky light will wash over you and unleash the horrible curse, transforming you into the very thing you feared most, or at least found weird or kinda yucky.
What sort of werebeast or wereappliance have you become, the last thing you wanted? Can you find a healthy, positive perspective on your new reality? What are some of the benefits of being, say, a weretoaster, or a wereslug, or a wereroach?
Track of the week:
Track: Fred
Artist: Tony Williams Lifetime
Album: Believe it
Release Year: 1975
Just a bit of insane drum shredding and mind-blowing jazz fusion to inspire and/or torment you while you write your musings on what it means to be a werecarp
First, I just posted a new CANID-20 story. Come check it out if you haven't already.
Second, I'm posting the next page of Sexual Tyrannosaurus today. Subsequent pages will be delayed, sadly, but once updates resume on Patreon again we should see a quicker release schedule since we'll have a number of pages hot and ready to bust out all over the internet.
Announcements over. Now: The discussion!
You're walking around on a foggy moor under a full moon as you usually do, just minding your own business, when out of the darkness looms a nightmare beast. No. It can't be. It's (insert the animal/object you least want to be transformed into here)! You turn and dart in the other direction, heart thrumming in your ears, adrenaline coursing through your veins as your feet seem to spin. Even as you bolt through the darkness and murk you sense the thingy's malevolent presence right behind you. A terrible thought enters your mind for the first time, but not the last: I'm not going to make it out of this.
What happens next feels as inevitable as is it cliche. Your foot catches a rock and you spill to the floor, world whirling around you. The thingy catches up with you and sinks its fangs or its flat herbivore teeth or its sharp plastic edges or whatever into your shoulder and you black out.
You awaken in a hospital. A doctor informs you that you are making a suspiciously fast recovery. Medical science can't explain what's happening to you, but deep down, you know. It's just a matter of time until the next full moon, when the milky light will wash over you and unleash the horrible curse, transforming you into the very thing you feared most, or at least found weird or kinda yucky.
What sort of werebeast or wereappliance have you become, the last thing you wanted? Can you find a healthy, positive perspective on your new reality? What are some of the benefits of being, say, a weretoaster, or a wereslug, or a wereroach?
Track of the week:
Track: Fred
Artist: Tony Williams Lifetime
Album: Believe it
Release Year: 1975
Just a bit of insane drum shredding and mind-blowing jazz fusion to inspire and/or torment you while you write your musings on what it means to be a werecarp
Werewolf Transmission
Posted a year agoFresh topic time!
You're a werewolf. You just don't know it yet. Imagine how surprised you'll be when the next full moon rolls around.
How did this happen? (choose one)
-You come from an old family with a history of this sort of thing
-You went hiking/jogging with a new friend and shared your water bottle with them out of kindness
-You struck a deal with a charismatic character who was very vague about the terms of payment
-You hooked up with an old friend that you haven't met in a while. One thing led to another and you had a one-night stand, after which they seemed very contrite
-You sought comradeship with a tight-knit group of cool folks who seem to have taken a liking to you
-You talked about wanting to be stronger, faster, more capable, more virile... and someone was listening
-You read these methods and didn't like them, instead coming up with your own (please elaborate)
When the first transformation hits and the reality sinks in, how do you react to your new predicament? No suggestions here, this one's for you to write in, or to keep to yourself.
*****
Track of the Week:
Track: Newlove
Artist: Sewerslvt
Release Year: 2020
You're a werewolf. You just don't know it yet. Imagine how surprised you'll be when the next full moon rolls around.
How did this happen? (choose one)
-You come from an old family with a history of this sort of thing
-You went hiking/jogging with a new friend and shared your water bottle with them out of kindness
-You struck a deal with a charismatic character who was very vague about the terms of payment
-You hooked up with an old friend that you haven't met in a while. One thing led to another and you had a one-night stand, after which they seemed very contrite
-You sought comradeship with a tight-knit group of cool folks who seem to have taken a liking to you
-You talked about wanting to be stronger, faster, more capable, more virile... and someone was listening
-You read these methods and didn't like them, instead coming up with your own (please elaborate)
When the first transformation hits and the reality sinks in, how do you react to your new predicament? No suggestions here, this one's for you to write in, or to keep to yourself.
*****
Track of the Week:
Track: Newlove
Artist: Sewerslvt
Release Year: 2020
Sexual Tyrannosaurus Comic + New Story
Posted a year agoSomething big is coming.
I've been sitting on this announcement for ages, but can finally make it official: Sexual Tyrannosaurus is coming to life!
This comic adaptation of the original story will debut on lomasderzumalos26's Patreon and features the art of beautifulpanda20, the same artist as Digital Mayhem!
Featuring Tom, Alex, and a greatly expanded cast of characters, it's going to be one helluva ride. I'll be posting the pages here two weeks after they're released on Imp's Paradise, so if you want a first look and to support the work of myself and other TF creators, I highly recommend joining up!
Also, I'm posting the latest story this afternoon. If you like dragons, you're in for a treat. If you don't like dragons... You will. >:3
Track of the Week:
Track: Friend Zone
Artist: Thundercat
Album: Drunk
Release Year: 2017
Don't be sleepin' on Thundercat. 'Drunk' remains my favorite album of this insane, irreverent bassist. If you're into funk, Dragonball durags, and/or ballads about a cat named TurboTron, you owe it to yourself to give Thundercat a try.
I've been sitting on this announcement for ages, but can finally make it official: Sexual Tyrannosaurus is coming to life!
This comic adaptation of the original story will debut on lomasderzumalos26's Patreon and features the art of beautifulpanda20, the same artist as Digital Mayhem!
Featuring Tom, Alex, and a greatly expanded cast of characters, it's going to be one helluva ride. I'll be posting the pages here two weeks after they're released on Imp's Paradise, so if you want a first look and to support the work of myself and other TF creators, I highly recommend joining up!
Also, I'm posting the latest story this afternoon. If you like dragons, you're in for a treat. If you don't like dragons... You will. >:3
Track of the Week:
Track: Friend Zone
Artist: Thundercat
Album: Drunk
Release Year: 2017
Don't be sleepin' on Thundercat. 'Drunk' remains my favorite album of this insane, irreverent bassist. If you're into funk, Dragonball durags, and/or ballads about a cat named TurboTron, you owe it to yourself to give Thundercat a try.
Shark Week + Pick a Story
Posted a year agoIt's shork weeeeek!
Y'all better not be mean to sharks for the next few days or else you might turn into one. Or does that happen when you're friendly to sharks? Either way, sharks are gonna happen, so you'd best get acquainted with a seafood diet.
I'll be posting some shark boi art that I've been saving for the occasion. Also, I've just finished a new 15k-ish story of an equine persuasion, but am awaiting some art that I'd like to go with it. There's other things going on too, but I hesitate to announce those until they start to become a reality. Anyway, it looks like it's Surf & Turf for you lot!
Instead of a more general discussion topic this time, I had a more direct question: What story would interest you more?
1: A timid university freshman inadvertently speaks an incantation that turns him into a horny dragon right there in the library. Also, embarrassment accelerates the changes...
2: A marine biologist discovers a strange, gooey animal lifeform after an ancient Antarctic ice shelf crumbles away and is stuck with it in a hyperbaric chamber, prompting a strange metamorphosis...
Please let me know what interests you in the replies, or if you have questions of your own, or, heck, write in your own TF prompt!
Track of the Week:
Track: Sight of the Dawn
Artist: Makoto Matsushita
Album: Quiet Skies
Release Year: 1983 (remastered 2019)
Makoto Matsushita's album First Light remains one of my favorite CityPop albums out there, but I only recently discovered that he also came out with two other albums of a similar vein. It's tough to describe what about his music grabs me so, but I think it's the ability to transport me to a certain time and place that I've never experienced, and perhaps never existed in the first place.
Y'all better not be mean to sharks for the next few days or else you might turn into one. Or does that happen when you're friendly to sharks? Either way, sharks are gonna happen, so you'd best get acquainted with a seafood diet.
I'll be posting some shark boi art that I've been saving for the occasion. Also, I've just finished a new 15k-ish story of an equine persuasion, but am awaiting some art that I'd like to go with it. There's other things going on too, but I hesitate to announce those until they start to become a reality. Anyway, it looks like it's Surf & Turf for you lot!
Instead of a more general discussion topic this time, I had a more direct question: What story would interest you more?
1: A timid university freshman inadvertently speaks an incantation that turns him into a horny dragon right there in the library. Also, embarrassment accelerates the changes...
2: A marine biologist discovers a strange, gooey animal lifeform after an ancient Antarctic ice shelf crumbles away and is stuck with it in a hyperbaric chamber, prompting a strange metamorphosis...
Please let me know what interests you in the replies, or if you have questions of your own, or, heck, write in your own TF prompt!
Track of the Week:
Track: Sight of the Dawn
Artist: Makoto Matsushita
Album: Quiet Skies
Release Year: 1983 (remastered 2019)
Makoto Matsushita's album First Light remains one of my favorite CityPop albums out there, but I only recently discovered that he also came out with two other albums of a similar vein. It's tough to describe what about his music grabs me so, but I think it's the ability to transport me to a certain time and place that I've never experienced, and perhaps never existed in the first place.
Brunch Theory
Posted 2 years agoWhere did it all go wrong?
You'd be hard-pressed to find a question more emblematic of adulthood. As someone over 30 I'm a wizened ancient in the fandom, so I believe I'm qualified to express my opinion. If you seek an engaging transformation discussion, you may find yourself disappointed, though the last 3-4 decades in the US have been a transformation of a sort. Just not a very appealing one.
I used to go to church. A lot of people did, and I think we've lost sight of why we did, and more importantly why we stopped. It's a good question to ask: Why would anyone, child or adult, drag themselves out of bed at sunrise on a weekend, dress up fancy, and go into a big building where men in robes treat you to what are without a doubt the most boring 2-3 hours of your week? The answer, I've come to believe, is brunch.
We'd go to church on an empty stomach. This wasn't some sort of ritual fast. After waking up as late as we could get away with, we didn't have time for anything other than getting dressed and driving there. I was Lutheran, so even though we didn't have Catholic Mass we still had communion, but there's no way that a flat, flavorless wafer and a half ounce of wine or Welch's could satisfy the temporal needs of the congregation. No, the unspoken, wordless understanding, the social contract that bound together the clergy and the people, was that we would have brunch afterwards.
There was bacon, breakfast sausage, hash browns, pancakes, waffles, fruit salad, scramby eggs, and for the truly fortunate a custom-made omelet. Like many things, the sum of the ingredients was less than the whole. You can go to any number of restaurants and buy the brunch experience, but without the privations of church to precede it, the experience comes up short because it misses one thing: Brunch was a shared experience.
We fought sleep together, stared into space together, sang tunelessly together, and endured privation together. It's completely insane, of course, but most memorable things are. Brunch without struggle tastes flatter than the triumph of that first oily, salt-laden bite of sausage after the old man's sermon. And struggle without brunch? What does that look like? Well, we soon found out.
Somewhere along the way, churches stopped doing brunch. Perhaps their charitable inclinations ran dry. Perhaps the clergy grew frustrated by what they saw was an interest in a good meal rather than spiritual enrichment. In any event, the brunches stopped. That's when the ugliness began.
When you share your life with an animal there is an expectation, a responsibility that you will provide food: An unwritten, unspoken contract. Food is not a bribe, not a special privilege, but an expectation tantamount to a sacred right. It doesn't matter if your dog or cat or iguana or fancy rat are nicest, best behaved, gentlest beasts or if they're horrible little gremlins. If you stop feeding them, their obligation to be your companion wears out very quickly. They'll behave as though they've been betrayed. And they're right.
The same is true of humans. Sunday Brunch wasn't a bribe. It was an institution, the manifestation of a social contract. When they got rid of it, they divided the flock into two folds. One consisted of the ordinary everyperson, the other consisted of the type of person who would sit and sing and chant and listen to sermons as their own reward. In a word: Lunatics.
Now I've already established that lunacy doesn't have to be a bad thing. I've heard that the ecstasy of faith can be as potent as any narcotic or erotic experience. But most of us aren't wired that way, and never will be. I've known some very devoted people and do not mean to disparage what, to them, is the most important thing in their lives. What I want to disparage is how they've chosen to use that obsession.
Sunday Brunch brought together different kinds of people. I'm not going to sugar coat it and say that it was a perfect picture of cultural diversity, but it was something. When churches stopped doing brunch, the first to shriek in protest were the children, the ones least inclined toward traditional rituals and long-winded sermons. The next were their parents who, understanding that their kids made a good point, decided that sleeping in was something they wanted too. Then came the friends of those children and parents who, still on the fence, decided that those conversations they had after service didn't have to happen at church. This left behind just one group: The fanatics.
They must have felt betrayed. The kids, the parents, the social butterflies, the true believers, the clergy... All of them. The clergy invested the money they saved on brunches into mass media and political pressure groups. The true believers became evangelical, but without the most tried and true technique to get butts into pews their proselytizing efforts met failure after failure until that constant rejection hardened into a bitter resolve to punish society for its sins. The rest of us, no longer involved with religion, looked on in horror as the clergy exploited true believers' fanaticism and drive to locate and push every pressure point in the political system until they started to dish out the punishment they believed we all so rightly deserved.
What did they think? That their fury and viciousness would endear them to us? Frighten us into submission? Make us cheer for the utopia that they're building? No. We ask these questions because we are sane, but the insane follow a logical pathway that we just can't fathom. And now they're calling the shots.
Most of us have grown up in a world without Sunday Brunch at church. Do we bring it back the way it was? I don't think we can. When we were all together in one milieu there was a way to keep a lid on the madness lurking in peoples' hearts just by being there and showing others that we exist, in all our beauty and ugliness. If we were all to meet again, I wouldn't be able to digest my breakfast sausage and mushroom omelet knowing that some people in the room would beat me or kill me if they knew what I am. I couldn't stomach knowing that if words fail and fists fly, everyone else will just stand and let it happen. The madness is buried deep now. So what do we do?
I think the first step is to admit that the tools of reason do not work against people in a fanatical state of mind. From this foundation we can push back. I don't know how best to do this. Every idea that I have right now comes from a place of anger and righteous indignation. All but one. There is something that has brought people to the table for time immemorial: Free food, eaten together, cordially.
And after enduring the privations of this waking nightmare dystopia together, I bet it'll taste pretty damn good.
You'd be hard-pressed to find a question more emblematic of adulthood. As someone over 30 I'm a wizened ancient in the fandom, so I believe I'm qualified to express my opinion. If you seek an engaging transformation discussion, you may find yourself disappointed, though the last 3-4 decades in the US have been a transformation of a sort. Just not a very appealing one.
I used to go to church. A lot of people did, and I think we've lost sight of why we did, and more importantly why we stopped. It's a good question to ask: Why would anyone, child or adult, drag themselves out of bed at sunrise on a weekend, dress up fancy, and go into a big building where men in robes treat you to what are without a doubt the most boring 2-3 hours of your week? The answer, I've come to believe, is brunch.
We'd go to church on an empty stomach. This wasn't some sort of ritual fast. After waking up as late as we could get away with, we didn't have time for anything other than getting dressed and driving there. I was Lutheran, so even though we didn't have Catholic Mass we still had communion, but there's no way that a flat, flavorless wafer and a half ounce of wine or Welch's could satisfy the temporal needs of the congregation. No, the unspoken, wordless understanding, the social contract that bound together the clergy and the people, was that we would have brunch afterwards.
There was bacon, breakfast sausage, hash browns, pancakes, waffles, fruit salad, scramby eggs, and for the truly fortunate a custom-made omelet. Like many things, the sum of the ingredients was less than the whole. You can go to any number of restaurants and buy the brunch experience, but without the privations of church to precede it, the experience comes up short because it misses one thing: Brunch was a shared experience.
We fought sleep together, stared into space together, sang tunelessly together, and endured privation together. It's completely insane, of course, but most memorable things are. Brunch without struggle tastes flatter than the triumph of that first oily, salt-laden bite of sausage after the old man's sermon. And struggle without brunch? What does that look like? Well, we soon found out.
Somewhere along the way, churches stopped doing brunch. Perhaps their charitable inclinations ran dry. Perhaps the clergy grew frustrated by what they saw was an interest in a good meal rather than spiritual enrichment. In any event, the brunches stopped. That's when the ugliness began.
When you share your life with an animal there is an expectation, a responsibility that you will provide food: An unwritten, unspoken contract. Food is not a bribe, not a special privilege, but an expectation tantamount to a sacred right. It doesn't matter if your dog or cat or iguana or fancy rat are nicest, best behaved, gentlest beasts or if they're horrible little gremlins. If you stop feeding them, their obligation to be your companion wears out very quickly. They'll behave as though they've been betrayed. And they're right.
The same is true of humans. Sunday Brunch wasn't a bribe. It was an institution, the manifestation of a social contract. When they got rid of it, they divided the flock into two folds. One consisted of the ordinary everyperson, the other consisted of the type of person who would sit and sing and chant and listen to sermons as their own reward. In a word: Lunatics.
Now I've already established that lunacy doesn't have to be a bad thing. I've heard that the ecstasy of faith can be as potent as any narcotic or erotic experience. But most of us aren't wired that way, and never will be. I've known some very devoted people and do not mean to disparage what, to them, is the most important thing in their lives. What I want to disparage is how they've chosen to use that obsession.
Sunday Brunch brought together different kinds of people. I'm not going to sugar coat it and say that it was a perfect picture of cultural diversity, but it was something. When churches stopped doing brunch, the first to shriek in protest were the children, the ones least inclined toward traditional rituals and long-winded sermons. The next were their parents who, understanding that their kids made a good point, decided that sleeping in was something they wanted too. Then came the friends of those children and parents who, still on the fence, decided that those conversations they had after service didn't have to happen at church. This left behind just one group: The fanatics.
They must have felt betrayed. The kids, the parents, the social butterflies, the true believers, the clergy... All of them. The clergy invested the money they saved on brunches into mass media and political pressure groups. The true believers became evangelical, but without the most tried and true technique to get butts into pews their proselytizing efforts met failure after failure until that constant rejection hardened into a bitter resolve to punish society for its sins. The rest of us, no longer involved with religion, looked on in horror as the clergy exploited true believers' fanaticism and drive to locate and push every pressure point in the political system until they started to dish out the punishment they believed we all so rightly deserved.
What did they think? That their fury and viciousness would endear them to us? Frighten us into submission? Make us cheer for the utopia that they're building? No. We ask these questions because we are sane, but the insane follow a logical pathway that we just can't fathom. And now they're calling the shots.
Most of us have grown up in a world without Sunday Brunch at church. Do we bring it back the way it was? I don't think we can. When we were all together in one milieu there was a way to keep a lid on the madness lurking in peoples' hearts just by being there and showing others that we exist, in all our beauty and ugliness. If we were all to meet again, I wouldn't be able to digest my breakfast sausage and mushroom omelet knowing that some people in the room would beat me or kill me if they knew what I am. I couldn't stomach knowing that if words fail and fists fly, everyone else will just stand and let it happen. The madness is buried deep now. So what do we do?
I think the first step is to admit that the tools of reason do not work against people in a fanatical state of mind. From this foundation we can push back. I don't know how best to do this. Every idea that I have right now comes from a place of anger and righteous indignation. All but one. There is something that has brought people to the table for time immemorial: Free food, eaten together, cordially.
And after enduring the privations of this waking nightmare dystopia together, I bet it'll taste pretty damn good.
TF Prompts / Winners Chosen
Posted 2 years agoThank you so much, everyone! I received so many applications that it was a little heartbreaking to have to choose. In the end, my decision was motivated by a number of factors, including my unquenchable thirst for corruption TF and the desire to write for new clients. Here are the winners:
Alchemistjijo (Twitter)
JunStarBit
There were some amazing ideas submitted, some that I will select from for a future batch of commissions, but for now I'll start with these three.
And now for the discussion topic: What are some of your favorite TF prompts? Are there any that you don't see enough of? Never get tired of? See too much of? Didn't like before, but are starting to?
For me, I think it'd be neat to see more body sculpting TF, where touching is both the prompt and the driver of the physical changes. Corruption TF is one thing I'd pick for something I never get tired of since there are such broad possibilities for things like irony, body horror, wish fulfillment, and the steady intensification of changes. As for something I didn't like before but have gotten into more recently, goo and latex-driven transformations are something I'd like to explore.
Track of the week:
Track: Crystal Waves
Artist: Kalax
Album: Wave Break: Neon Rides OST
Release Year: 2021
Alchemistjijo (Twitter)
JunStarBit
There were some amazing ideas submitted, some that I will select from for a future batch of commissions, but for now I'll start with these three.
And now for the discussion topic: What are some of your favorite TF prompts? Are there any that you don't see enough of? Never get tired of? See too much of? Didn't like before, but are starting to?
For me, I think it'd be neat to see more body sculpting TF, where touching is both the prompt and the driver of the physical changes. Corruption TF is one thing I'd pick for something I never get tired of since there are such broad possibilities for things like irony, body horror, wish fulfillment, and the steady intensification of changes. As for something I didn't like before but have gotten into more recently, goo and latex-driven transformations are something I'd like to explore.
Track of the week:
Track: Crystal Waves
Artist: Kalax
Album: Wave Break: Neon Rides OST
Release Year: 2021
Commissions are Open (and Hot Zone is done)!
Posted 2 years agoThis journal is less of a discussion than an announcement, so apologies for that.
After a long, expensive, and immensely frustrating move I feel like life has finally settled down enough and my own personal projects are complete enough to start taking on comms. Also, after practicing the idea through mini-stories written on the fly for some art commissions I posted, I may be ready to propose mini-stories of 2500 or so words, though these will by necessity have to be quite light on plot. A lot has changed in the last year, but for the first batch of comms I'm keeping the pricing the same as it was last time. By the way, the old forms are no more. If you submitted a form in the past, you will need to make a new one!
I've also simplified the form a bit, getting rid of a question and leaving things more open. The previous form had a question about availability of funds that didn't end up being very useful and can be sorted out in private discussion. The intro also had way too much information, which I've done away with. See? I can be brief!
HERE IS THE LINK TO THE COMMISSION FORM
Finally, Hot Zone is now complete. It's the biggest project I've ever completed. For those of you who haven't yet seen the finale, check out Karma Chameleon: Hot Zone pt. 5. I thoroughly enjoyed writing the story and am very, very grateful to those who followed Max Toretto on his adventure. If you don't know what Hot Zone is, I present to you a list:
-Dinosaurs...
-...with lasers on their heads
-Anthro dinosaurs...
-...having sex
-Glowing science goo...
-...That transforms people
-80s and 90s action movies
-Satire
Do any of these interest you? If you answered 'Yes!', then dip your toes in Hot Zone by starting at the beginning!
Track of the week:
Track: Tropic Birds
Artist: Masayoshi Takanaka
Album: All of Me
Release Year: 1979
What does 1979 sound like? Masayoshi Takanaka has the answer, and it's this song.
After a long, expensive, and immensely frustrating move I feel like life has finally settled down enough and my own personal projects are complete enough to start taking on comms. Also, after practicing the idea through mini-stories written on the fly for some art commissions I posted, I may be ready to propose mini-stories of 2500 or so words, though these will by necessity have to be quite light on plot. A lot has changed in the last year, but for the first batch of comms I'm keeping the pricing the same as it was last time. By the way, the old forms are no more. If you submitted a form in the past, you will need to make a new one!
I've also simplified the form a bit, getting rid of a question and leaving things more open. The previous form had a question about availability of funds that didn't end up being very useful and can be sorted out in private discussion. The intro also had way too much information, which I've done away with. See? I can be brief!
HERE IS THE LINK TO THE COMMISSION FORM
Finally, Hot Zone is now complete. It's the biggest project I've ever completed. For those of you who haven't yet seen the finale, check out Karma Chameleon: Hot Zone pt. 5. I thoroughly enjoyed writing the story and am very, very grateful to those who followed Max Toretto on his adventure. If you don't know what Hot Zone is, I present to you a list:
-Dinosaurs...
-...with lasers on their heads
-Anthro dinosaurs...
-...having sex
-Glowing science goo...
-...That transforms people
-80s and 90s action movies
-Satire
Do any of these interest you? If you answered 'Yes!', then dip your toes in Hot Zone by starting at the beginning!
Track of the week:
Track: Tropic Birds
Artist: Masayoshi Takanaka
Album: All of Me
Release Year: 1979
What does 1979 sound like? Masayoshi Takanaka has the answer, and it's this song.
Growing Up and TF
Posted 2 years agoNot a whole lot of preamble here. My move got delayed a little bit, which gives me some welcome breathing room, enough to post a new journal!
Today's topic: Transformation and coming of age. When did you first realize that you enjoyed transformation in media, and what was the media? Also, how did your experience with TF change as you grew up?
Track of the week:
Track: Erica
Artist: L'Avenue
Album: Azure
Release Year: 2021
I stumbled upon the work of L'Avenue recently in a playlist and found their entire discography to be wonderful, smooth synthwave, soothing and evocative. There's no lyrics so I have no doubt that most folks will file it under 'elevator music', but I like what I like, and I enjoy sharing!
Today's topic: Transformation and coming of age. When did you first realize that you enjoyed transformation in media, and what was the media? Also, how did your experience with TF change as you grew up?
Track of the week:
Track: Erica
Artist: L'Avenue
Album: Azure
Release Year: 2021
I stumbled upon the work of L'Avenue recently in a playlist and found their entire discography to be wonderful, smooth synthwave, soothing and evocative. There's no lyrics so I have no doubt that most folks will file it under 'elevator music', but I like what I like, and I enjoy sharing!