I hope the new year is treating everyone well so far. Though 2023 was a year of great accomplishments for me, I didn't complete a lot of the things I'd planned to. A family member became ill and died. Another family member became ill and died. I became ill, and fortunately did not die. I was roped into contributing to a project in a much larger and faster-paced capacity than I'd expected. And of course, my job is actively trying to hammer me into the dirt with no regard for my safety. All in all, not a very conducive environment for making furry videos and art.
I've made it a point in the past to limit talking about projects I have in the works, because historically, I get the same dopamine from discussing my plans as actually completing them with none of the effort. This is quite a slippery slope to slide down, and it results in people getting upset when results take longer than expected. However, I feel that my audience would enjoy hearing about what I'm working on in advance (even if it's just small sneak peeks), and tweaking my methods may introduce a bit more accountability for me.

I'm overhauling my panel about at-home fursuiting so it can be presented at online cons in a non- or semi-live format. This will enable me to provide programming to online furcons outside of my time zone - namely, in other countries. Online cons are a valuable resource for marginalized members of our community, and I want to help out as many different events as I can so furries can continue to enjoy them and foster the growth of new ones. Honestly, what's mostly kept me from branching out to non-USA online events is that they happen while I'm asleep! The first of said asynchronous presentations will be at Little Island Furcon Online later this month. I'll share the details regarding that pretty soon.

Furnal Equinox 2023 recap and con video are on track to be released first quarter of 2024. I wanted to include a certain piece of media, but the individual who has the files is taking a really long time getting them to me. If you've ever had your picture taken at a furcon by a third party, you may be aware that the approach of the next year's con is a sort of event horizon. Should you be promised something by anyone at a con and they don't get it to you before the next occurrence, you may as well write it off as lost (intentionally or no, people inevitably focus on the current con's obligations and move on). With FE 2024 coming up in less than 2 months, I have a feeling this is what's happening, therefore I'm cutting my losses and pushing forward with what I have. I'll publish the remaining photos I do have from FE 2023 to coincide with the video and write-up. Expect to see those by March.

The next Cheetah Chat episode will be about how to find friends in the furry community. I'm someone who socializes with other furries in my own particular way. Endeavoring to be as comprehensive as possible, I sought to cover all ways that modern furries meet and befriend each other, including those I don't personally partake in (such as VRChat, kink events, and dating apps), which required a lot of research. I got in way over my head and ended up at a point where 1) the script was too long and 2) I feared I wouldn't be portraying many of the avenues in a way that does them justice. I'm scrapping most of the script I've written over the past 3 years and starting afresh, but Episode 16 will release this year. I'll try to complete more than one episode - I assure you, I'm not going to become an Hbomberguy type - but no promises there.

larchus gifted me a VR headset for Winterfeast, which I'll use to get more immersed in the VR furry community. Coming from a longtime PC and console gamer, incorporating physiological aspects into gaming truly makes it a different animal. I'm still at the stage where simply walking with thumbsticks makes my head spin and more complex movements induce nausea, so needless to say, I'm acclimating myself to the environment at a slow and steady pace! I genuinely didn't expect my body to react so strongly. My own physical shortcomings aside, I'm massively impressed by the technical marvels furries have accomplished in VR, and several inspirational sparks are floating around in my noggin. In 2024 I intend to pursue hybrid fursuit/VR photography projects, livestreaming in VR, and hosting convention panels in VR spaces.

International Cheetah Day (December 4) is a weekday again in 2024, which means ramthedragon and I likely won't be doing a livestream on the day. Choosing the Cheetah Fit Challenge in September as my CCF donation drive worked out a lot better for my schedule. Performing the actual tasks in advance and putting together a recap video to release on the date was very convenient, and I think people responded well to that, so I'll be taking part again in 2024. I can't deny that my CFC campaign got a LOT more attention than any of the donation drives I'd done for the Cheetah Conservation Fund on my own, though admittedly, it hinges on the fickleness of the social media algorithm. Using what I learned from last year, I'll do my best to translate bemused shares and comments into tangible donations for the CCF.

Finally, I want to make a game this year. I've been dreading talking about this, because I have zero experience in the game creation field. I want to do this despite the arduous work ahead of me. It'll likely be a very simple game (the type where certain people like to argue whether it counts as one), and that's all the details you're getting from me on this front, haha. Pushing out of my comfort zone has gotten me to where I am in the furry community and my personal life, so I'm continuing to do so in new ways.

Have a cookie for reading the whole outline! I greatly appreciate your interest and support. If you'd like to talk with me about any of the plans I mentioned (or just in general), I can be reached in a ton of online places: LINK. I also have a Discord for those who are into that.

Let's get cracking on 2024!