Regrettably, this evening's Derail Valley Twitch Stream has to be cancelled to make time for family obligations.

We've come pretty far in just 10-hours of play. If you need to catch up on the play thru's progress so far, the Streams are up on my YouTube channel. Likes, comments and subscriptions are appreciated.
youtube.com/@swiftf0x

Thank you for your support thus far and I value your patience as other responsibilities need to take precedence.

Swift Fox

Streaming Choo-choo's tonight and the train departs in a 20-minutes (7pm ET) on Twitch.

Moving freight from Harbor to Goods Factory in Derail Valley. Buying some tools and gadgets. Then installing them on the Locomotives. If there's time, we'll take on a Shunting Job to show how they work.

Hope you'll make time to pop in.
https://www.twitch.tv/swift_f0x

*foxie hugs all around!!*

I wanted to take a moment and thank everyone who took time out of their day to wish me a Happy Whelpday yesterday.

It really means a lot and helped keep my spirits up through the day.

Work day Whelpdays are hard to make very special, but each of you helped.

I scheduled a release of a YouTube video of a local short line railroad moving freight between the NS and CSX yards I caught on Monday and it is tracking exceedingly well for my channel. (My live Stream on Twitch, from Wednesday night, drops on my YouTube this morning at 10am today. youtube.com/@swiftf0x)

Last night after work I had agility class with my bestest little Sheltie girl Ella and we both had a great time at practice.

Just as Silaria and I were getting home from agility class with the dogs, I was dispatched to a Smell of Gas in a duplex in our "first due" so I got to drive the big red truck, lights and sirens there...then as we were being released from that incident, we were dispatched to a residential fire alarm...so I got to drive the fire engine, lights and sirens, there. Both were non-issues after investigation...the fire alarm incident was a smoke detector that needed a new battery.

So, in terms of Whelpdays, yesterday didn't turn out too badly IMHO.

Thanks again and may all your days be just as special as mine was!

*Hugs*

Swifty

Today is another year closer to getting my second tail! :-D

I had a very productive Stream last night on Twitch.

The Derail Valley Career mode game play-through is moving along quite nicely, and even supplied some surprises.

If you missed it, you can watch it here on YouTube: https://youtu.be/xbXNwlTkIxk?si=v9LvN6wG5cBwO303

Hello friends!

I've been having so much fun playing Derail Valley Simulator since May, that I am looking ahead to Streaming it via my Twitch Account. (https://www.twitch.tv/swift_f0x)

At the recommendation of a few friends, I'm getting acquainted with using OBS as my Streaming Studio and I like the ease of the interface.

Last night, I ran a half hour long test stream to become more familiar with OBS and check to see that all the settings were working as expected. I streamed a short Shunting job to unload 10 flat cars of farm tractors and store the empty cars in an available siding.

If you're interested, The stream is up on my Twitch account and available for viewing. Feedback is welcome.

If you've been a Follower of mine on Twitch, here's a heads up that I'll be doing regular Live Streams on Wednesday evenings from 7-9pm ET, when I don't have other obligations once a month. If you're not following me on Twitch, maybe give it a look and consider a Follow.

Thanks for reading!

Swifty

 Caelthunderwing needs help finding a new place to live in North Carolina or surrounding states.

If you have a room open for rent, or one coming free soon, please consider reaching out to them.

https://www.furaffinity.net/journal/11098583/

Thank you for your time and attention.

I've been trying to let friends know that I'm no longer on X (Twitter)

I stepped away from it shortly after the acquisition and the change from Twitter to X happened. It wasn't easy, but the change helped improve my mental health.

In all that time, I think I've popped in a handful of times around Christmas and my Birthday, but other than that, I haven't felt the need to become active again on he platform.

So yesterday, I deactivated my Main, my Babyfur, and my Fursuit (April) accounts. I could just continue to ignore them, but I'd prefer not to run the risk of them getting hacked and used improperly.

I believe I have 3 more old Twitter accounts from the years I participated and role played with the TwitterPonies. I'm leaving those alone for a while longer as there may be archival roleplay content there that might be impacted if I deactivate those accounts. I'll let others who participated in the same at that time direct me to do otherwise, but those accounts do not have any direct bearing back to my 'sona or to me personally.

So that's it. I'm active on Telegram and on Mastodon at the moment. My Facebook is for family and friends not associated with the fandom...for the most part. I check my FA and Weasyl accounts once or twice a day, and I have accounts on Twitch, Babyfur.me and Discord. (PM me if you are interested in links.)

Be well friends. You have my love and support. I wish you all peace, good health and prosperity.

Swift

I "sanitized" my FA months ago of anything that was remotely close to running afoul of moderation. I took down anything that showed Swifty in a diaper...or even had the hint of a diaper showing.
I removed all my ABDL stories that have been archived here also, in the event that there may have been some impropriety there that might be misinterpreted or targeted and lead to trouble.
All of that effort helped me dodge the harassment and suspensions that have been running rampant here for the last 6-months to a year.

I'm not leaving FA. I follow too many friends here who exist outside of the Babyfur/Little communities.

I'm not joining BlueSky. I do have an IB and Itaku account that I created long ago...but I don't check them often if at all.

So the only places to reliably find me ATM will be my accounts on Mastodon, Telegram, VRChat and...here on FA. (PM me if you're not already following me on those platforms and I'll share that info)

I regret that things have turned out as they have. I don't engage artists more than once or twice a year and this was my main place to find and commission art of Swift / Swifty.
So, I expect my commission rate will drop to zero for a while until I can reconnect with my Babyfur friends and artists on a more agreeable platform.

I'll post updates on the platforms mentioned above if something changes or I start to populate another platform with my "controversial" works and commissions.

Peace and be well friends wherever your paws may lead you. *Hugs* 😃 ❤️

Hello all you wonderful fluffs...who are still here to see this Journal.

*Hugs*

I spent 6 hours about a month ago...after the last "ban-scare"...making sure I had some of my content that could be remotely viewed as "questionable" from my Gallery.

I thought someone had mentioned that there was an easier way, some on-line software that makes the process a little more ergonomic and timely.

If anyone wants to share what they've been using, either in a reply to this post or via a PM, I'd appreciate the help.

Peace and good health!

Swifty

Hello friends;

I've put it off long enough and after a new round of b@byfur artists have had their accounts frozen or removed from F@ I think it's time to move my "little" gallery to somewhere safer.

All of my works that might be misconstrued as violating F@ content policies has been removed. Anything that's left isn't obviously babyfur or sexual in nature.

It is my hope that this will allow me time to download everything else that is here that isn't Fursuit related, and that I don't already have originals of on my NAS.

That way I can keep a presence here for networking purposes, but the bulk of my gallery here on F@ will be moving elsewhere.

Should have done this years ago, but it's a very large undertaking.

Links to the new repository will be shared once I get it populated. While I'm not 100% comfortably with the policies of the new site, at least I don't have to live looking over my shoulder and waiting for the axe to drop.

Thank you for understanding.

I attend two conventions each year: Anthrocon and WPAFW. Both are local conventions to Pittsburgh, PA. I tend to only attend WPAFW for 2-3 hours on Saturday evening due to other personal obligations that weekend.

At Anthrocon, I serve on Staff in the Public Relations department with the VIP Relations team. We provide escort duties for Guests of Honor, Returning Guests of Honor, the Charity, VIPs and Special Guests, from outside the Fandom, participating in the convention. We also are called upon to assist Public Relations as Media escorts. Over the course of the 5-days I was providing services in these roles, I walked 53+ miles, and my average was 12+ miles each day Thursday through Sunday. By Friday afternoon, I had blisters on my feet and toes, and I worked through Saturday and Sunday using Aleve to stem the pain.

I'm proud that my service and sacrifice helped to make the convention seamless and successful for over 17,000 attendees, and helped the charity raise over $100k this weekend. I had...about 12 hours for myself at the con this weekend and those hours helped salvage the convention for me.

Fursuiting...
This year was April's turn to attend Anthrocon and participate in the Parade. I've been in the fursuit parade at Anthrocon every year that it's taken place.
I was in April from about 1:00p to 3:30p on Saturday. Bopped from the Westin, across the skybridge, through the DLCC, up and down a few aisles in the Dealer's Room on my way to Hall C for the parade line-up. I think I had about 40 minutes of downtime there, waiting for the parade to start. The parade was AMAZING!! So much energy from the crowds, fueling April's energy to be silly, have fun, interact and perform! :-D The parade was short, 15-minutes tops, and I was toward the front, so I cooled down and hydrated again for another 30-40 minutes. It was probably 2:45pm when I suited up again and headed out for the Block Party. I have one opportunity, one block of time to be in suit and this was it. I bopped around the Block Party, posing for photos and selfies with the general public, playing fetch with the kids and adults, chasing bicyclists to the delight of the crowds, and getting lots of hugs. *wag, wag, wags and happy puppy noises* Hugs are the best. I was out for a good 30-minutes. Ducked into the Courtyard for about 10 minutes to de-head and hydrate so I could bounce through the crowds and make it back safely to the Westin, and the room that was offered me to get into and out of suit, and get cleaned up.
I was in suit for about two and a half hours, but was only actively "in character" for an hour Saturday afternoon...
But it was an hour of quality fursuiting and performing that I won't soon forget the "high" from. My next chance to suit won't be until Halloween and then New Year's Eve.

Panels...
The AstronoFur's panel on Friday evening that I was hosting got clouded out. However, I set up on the floor below and had an engaging 90-minute Q&A with about 30-40 interested convention attendees.
Just prior to my panel Friday evening, I had an opportunity to attend and help out with the "Young at Heart" panel for the Littles and their Bigs in attendence at the convention. Given my history with this Community, I was amazed and heartened to see that we filled the rooms to their capacity. To think how far the BF Community has come in 25 years. I have no words, just pride.
Friday afternoon I was also lucky enough to enjoy the Anthrocon Jazz & Big Band concert.
Saturday, after my time at the parade and block party, I found time to attend the Furry Musician's Meet & Greet. Turned out that I arrived an hour early, but that provided me the opportunity to play my Ukulele and jam with a fiddler and a percussionist for solid 45-minutes before furs began to show up for the panel. By then the musical talent in the room had far exceeded my own, but I did my best to try and follow along and strum chords, or just "chuck" my strings to the beat. It was the first time, since early elementary school, that I have played an instrument with others. I have a lot to learn, and I whole-heartedly appreciate the patience of those I was trying to play with, but the fun I had was worth it.
Thursday afternoon I also had the opportunity to slip into the HAM Fur's (Amateur Radio) for the last half hour of it.
So, 5 hours of Panels.

Other:
I found about 45 minutes on Friday to play and sing along to a few songs on my Ukulele outside the Spirit of Pgh Ballroom, just before the Jazz Band performance. I was there waiting for a representative from WQED so I could escort them, but it turned out they didn't need an escort.
The rest of my "Free" time I spent with  Silaria wandering the Dealer's Room and making a few purchases together.
Oh! At the AstronoFurs Q&A I learned there was an attendee who was putting out cards for each planet as part of a furry comic they're involved with. He asked me what my favorite Planet was and I immediately answered "Pluto!" So he gave me the Pluto promotional card. While walking from point to point I was also looking for the other cards in the set, sort of like a scavenger hunt. I found all of them but the "Sun" and "Venus" cards. I suspect he had them out on Friday, but if he did, I thought I should have found them scattered among the new cards. In hindsight, he probably exchanged each days cards with the next.

You don't see it, and that is by design, but behind the scenes, at least for the department I am working with, everyday was hectic. There was a lot of pivoting and "putting out fires," but our team of experienced staff addressed it quickly and quietly and provided effective solutions so there were no disruptions to the flow of the convention for the attendees. That's how it should be. I spent a lot of my time logging "lesson's learned" so we have a record of what we might be able to improve upon next year.

Given the physical and mental toll I carried while helping to Staff Anthrocon, the positives I enjoyed over my 10-hours enjoying the convention and while serving the convention on Staff, far outweighed any negatives.

I'm super happy for all the new and old friends I had the opportunity to run into, share a hug, have a few words (or more in some cases) There are too many to mention, and rather than run the risk of missing anyone, I'll refrain from even making an attempt to list all the names. You know who you are and I'm thankful for the exchange and the time we had together, however long or brief. *more hugs and smiles*

Anthrocon 2024 was a good convention for me.

If anyone find photos of  Aprilbcollie from Anthrocon this year, please let me know.

I did feel up to Streaming last night on Twitch.

I dedicated last night's stream to my 8-year-old Shetland Sheepdog, Keiran, who lost his battle with cancer on Tuesday.

As scheduled, I ran three World of Warships games in a new US Destroyer, the tier 9 USS Fletcher. The ship is still in it's stock configuration, so my games were played more on the passive and defensive role.

My best game last night was this one if you're interested in checking out my Twitch stream and what I have to offer.
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1780443098

https://www.furaffinity.net/view/51447370/

Hope to see a few of you there.

For those of you who missed it but still want to check it out, the Chat with Ashes stream from Monday can be found at the link below.

I think it went pretty well, and I know it would have gone better if there were more friends in the chat to interact with. I had to cut the Stream 20 minutes short of the full hour. When Silaria came home, she had something important she needed to share with me that couldn't wait.

Thanks for having a look and if you enjoyed it, please consider giving me a Follow.

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1757805086

I'll be streaming with Ashes the Dalmatian tonight in my Twitch Stream for an hour from 8-9pm.

I want to broaden my channel and try new things. If you've got a few minutes tonight, look me up.

twitch.tv/swift_f0x

Thanks! :-D

Streaming Tonight on Twitch beginning at 8pm.

Tonight I'll be continuing my Borderlands 2 game with my Mechromancer B.I.N.G.O.

Come join me tonight and say hello!

https://www.twitch.tv/swift_f0x

Hey friends!

I'll be on Twitch tonight starting at 8pm, streaming games on World of Warships in the Premium battleships USS Arizona, USS Alabama and USS Massachusetts.

I'm still grinding Commander Points for the Captain of the Destroyer USS Hill, but I'll be playing some higher tier games in an attempt to generate more experience points.

Come join me for an hour tonight, or look me up when you get the chance and give me a Follow.

https://www.twitch.tv/swift_f0x

My Twitch has been around for a couple years now, but I'm still in the "Building a Community" stage.

I want to thank the three new Followers, SkyGoodFellow, Sparky_Pup, and TwoToneDearly!
But I could use 16 more to reach the first goal of 50-Followers.

I also need to get 5 people chatting during a stream. I've been at 3 for over a year.

I Stream on Monday and Thursday nights each week, as they're the nights I have free typically.

Look me up please. 😄
https://www.twitch.tv/swift_f0x

I had three good games in my World of Warships stream tonight.

I played the DD USS Hill, the Battleship USS Arizona, and Cruiser USS Marblehead.

You can check them out here:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1740364117

I'll be joining Daisy Bunny playing Boarderlands 2 tonight 8-10pm EST come watch us go pew pew!

twitch.tv/cadpigjr

Streaming Borderlands 2 at 8pm.

Come join me and check it out.
(My channel needs some love)
https://www.twitch.tv/swift_f0x

Just finished up my Thursday evening World of Warships Stream on Twitch.

Here's a Highlight featuring one of my games in the DD USS Hill:
https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1733586743

Nintendo updated my ticket to the Pokemon Hisui Region from 2/23/22 to 2/1/22!

I can't wait! :-D