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Six days after his interview and photo shoot with Joseph Landon (Spotted Hyena, photographer), Merill Providence (Raccoontaur, NIL) found himself once again inside the studio to talk about the newly-proposed five-limb rule, one that could keep him out of the league for at least a year, perhaps for life. Though neither party had spoken yet, Merill understood that it was the hyena's duty to break the ice and strike up the conversation.
"Merill. I apologize for calling you here again so soon, but you understand why, correct?" Joseph looked a bit downtrodden, perhaps far too much so.
"Oh, it's no problem, Joe..." the taur replied, a soft smile on his face. "And yes, it's about the five-limb rule being proposed, as you mentioned over the phone." His face then began to fall, ears drooping.
"You realize that it's yet to be instated, right? I know it's gotta hurt, but you still have a great chance to be allowed into the league." Joseph patted the taur's left shoulder and smiled. Merill began chittering softly, a blush forming around his cheeks.
"Sorry. But, it's a hard thing to swallow, knowing that my basketball future is being decided behind closed doors and left a crew of anthros." Merill shook his head, blush still bright and showing no signs of leaving his face. "I've spent nearly twenty years of my life working with my game to get better, with the dream of one day playing in the big-league spotlight. Every year was a new challenge, but I never expected one of those challenges to come in the form of a potential lockdown of my kind."
"I have to agree wholly with you," the hyena barked, with a subdued half-smile on his snout. "Svenia and Zenzuela provided a realization to the dream of taurs being allowed into the FBA, at least for your generation, and just last year, Antony proved that even a fennec-sized taur could play with the big boys. I know that there aren't a lot of you in the league right now, but I think that those three, at minimum, have proven that your shape of body can make it happen."
"And what about Tazel and Xiau? Don't forget that they're under the effects of that proposal. It's not just taurs taking a hit against our careers." Merill turned away and sat a few feet away from Joseph, mumbling inaudibly. After a few seconds, he added, "I've watched the league pretty much as long as I can remember, and while they've had quite the different style of play compared to the biped, bi-armed folk, I never viewed them as having an overall, unconquerable advantage. Besides, Tazel left the game after a year and Xiau's on the reserves, only put in for special situations and garbage time. Far as I recall, his offensive prowess is nil, and he mostly just rebounds, steals and blocks. I hardly consider that unconquerable, since it basically limits his team to a five-on-four on the offensive end."
"Well, he's provided some sparks when he's needed," Joseph admitted, tail wagging as he smirked rather softly. "But you're right about him having some major flaws to counteract his ridiculous defensive skills. Tazel, on the other end... well, that's a different story."
"Shi left of hir own free will. When I was Caraway State I saw hir draft day, and smiled quite happily at the idea of a four-armed vixen in the league. You know, other than Xiau with multiple sets of arms, one that had offense. Shi only stayed a year, which disappointed me, but I understand hir views on the situation. Shi may or may not have been overwhelming, but I don't think we'll ever know for sure unless shi makes a comeback."
"Do you think shi would try, Merill?"
The taur nodded curtly and shot a half-smile of his own toward the hyena. "Assuming the five-limb rule falls through the cracks? I wouldn't put it past hir at all. I don't think a lot of people would, seeing as shi's in the prime of hir life."
Joseph left to fetch a basketball. This time, when offered the ball, Merill simply set it underneath his left forepaw and smiled. The hyena laughed happily and asked the taur to give him a more playful pose, and the raccoontaur simply stuck out his tongue and held his hands up as if he were catching a pass. The camera flashed and snapped, and once again the hyena had a great shot to add to his archives.
"Merill, what about the taurs?"
Merill tilted his head and twitched an ear softly. "What about them?"
"Do you think they'll still try and get in even if the five-limb rule goes into effect?"
"Oh, undoubtedly. I know the three currently in the game would have fits over being kicked away. I can't imagine Xiau or Tazel being too happy either." The taur rolled the basketball up his right foreleg and kicked it upward into his hands, chuckling. "I'd be upset too, but that would give me a ton of time to catch the Mudpuppies with my folks. We have a trio of season tickets at the half-court line, front row, with the Providence family name on it. Just because the FBA might not let me play, doesn't mean I'll strike or anything stupid like that. This game means so much more to me than some silly idea of being told I'm too different."
"Glad to hear it. I don't think the other three taurs would agree, but kudos for having the heart to be that open-minded."
"Well, I may be different, but I'm proud of what my parents created by having me and refuse to let anyone else sway that opinion. I look forward to the league's decision, so I can plan on either bringing the folks to draft day, or going to their house and watching the draft there, while going over the season's schedule to plan our trips to Biloxi. I double-majored in journalism and broadcasting, so I might see if Biloxi needs a gameday analyst or any other sort of personnel in the booth if it comes to that. Maybe even work as a beat writer or a sports columnist. Of course my dream is always going to be as an FBA player, but as soon as I reached college, I realized that even they don't play forever, and I need a plan for beyond that career. So, I worked extra-hard to prepare for any situation that came up, and with the recent proposal, I'm even more glad that I did."
"You know, I think I'm gonna hate it if that rule passes, Merill." Joseph sighed to himself and scrawled more on his notepad, seeming deep in thought.
"Oh? And why's that, Joe?" The taur seemed even more curious about that scrawling than the hyena's expressions.
"I'll let you figure that one out on your own..." Joseph responded, with a sly wink to the raccoontaur.
And for the second time in a week, Joseph took a basketball back from Merill's hands, and the two shared a friendly embrace with the ball between their bodies. They parted once again, but this time, before leaving, Merill lifted his right foreleg, and used it to give Joseph a 'handshake' of sorts. The hyena, though undoubtedly a bit weirded out by the sensation of shaking a taur's paw, snickered for as long as the pair of paws remained locked. And when it was over. both hyena and raccoontaur left the studio with the widest of smiles pasted upon their snouts...
inkyjinx is one of the best artists I've ever commissioned. Despite the fact that I didn't have enough money to get this image in full sketchy color, she went ahead and did so for free, without me asking for it, just because she's awesome like that. And again, she makes wonderful art, and captures the more playful side of Merill with a great pose, along with wonderfully captured feet and a nicely-placed tongue loll. <3 to you Inky. Lots of it.
Love this image? Give love to the original here!
Art ©
Thumbnailer ©
and 
FBA, Biloxi Mudpuppies ©
(feel free to correct me on any of those if I got them wrong)
Tazel Tawner ©
Xiau Xian-Xu, Svenia von Thomassen ©
Zenzuela Setheren ©
Antony Rufkin ©
Biloxi Mudpuppies jersey design ©
Story, Merill Providence and Joseph Landon ©
"Merill. I apologize for calling you here again so soon, but you understand why, correct?" Joseph looked a bit downtrodden, perhaps far too much so.
"Oh, it's no problem, Joe..." the taur replied, a soft smile on his face. "And yes, it's about the five-limb rule being proposed, as you mentioned over the phone." His face then began to fall, ears drooping.
"You realize that it's yet to be instated, right? I know it's gotta hurt, but you still have a great chance to be allowed into the league." Joseph patted the taur's left shoulder and smiled. Merill began chittering softly, a blush forming around his cheeks.
"Sorry. But, it's a hard thing to swallow, knowing that my basketball future is being decided behind closed doors and left a crew of anthros." Merill shook his head, blush still bright and showing no signs of leaving his face. "I've spent nearly twenty years of my life working with my game to get better, with the dream of one day playing in the big-league spotlight. Every year was a new challenge, but I never expected one of those challenges to come in the form of a potential lockdown of my kind."
"I have to agree wholly with you," the hyena barked, with a subdued half-smile on his snout. "Svenia and Zenzuela provided a realization to the dream of taurs being allowed into the FBA, at least for your generation, and just last year, Antony proved that even a fennec-sized taur could play with the big boys. I know that there aren't a lot of you in the league right now, but I think that those three, at minimum, have proven that your shape of body can make it happen."
"And what about Tazel and Xiau? Don't forget that they're under the effects of that proposal. It's not just taurs taking a hit against our careers." Merill turned away and sat a few feet away from Joseph, mumbling inaudibly. After a few seconds, he added, "I've watched the league pretty much as long as I can remember, and while they've had quite the different style of play compared to the biped, bi-armed folk, I never viewed them as having an overall, unconquerable advantage. Besides, Tazel left the game after a year and Xiau's on the reserves, only put in for special situations and garbage time. Far as I recall, his offensive prowess is nil, and he mostly just rebounds, steals and blocks. I hardly consider that unconquerable, since it basically limits his team to a five-on-four on the offensive end."
"Well, he's provided some sparks when he's needed," Joseph admitted, tail wagging as he smirked rather softly. "But you're right about him having some major flaws to counteract his ridiculous defensive skills. Tazel, on the other end... well, that's a different story."
"Shi left of hir own free will. When I was Caraway State I saw hir draft day, and smiled quite happily at the idea of a four-armed vixen in the league. You know, other than Xiau with multiple sets of arms, one that had offense. Shi only stayed a year, which disappointed me, but I understand hir views on the situation. Shi may or may not have been overwhelming, but I don't think we'll ever know for sure unless shi makes a comeback."
"Do you think shi would try, Merill?"
The taur nodded curtly and shot a half-smile of his own toward the hyena. "Assuming the five-limb rule falls through the cracks? I wouldn't put it past hir at all. I don't think a lot of people would, seeing as shi's in the prime of hir life."
Joseph left to fetch a basketball. This time, when offered the ball, Merill simply set it underneath his left forepaw and smiled. The hyena laughed happily and asked the taur to give him a more playful pose, and the raccoontaur simply stuck out his tongue and held his hands up as if he were catching a pass. The camera flashed and snapped, and once again the hyena had a great shot to add to his archives.
"Merill, what about the taurs?"
Merill tilted his head and twitched an ear softly. "What about them?"
"Do you think they'll still try and get in even if the five-limb rule goes into effect?"
"Oh, undoubtedly. I know the three currently in the game would have fits over being kicked away. I can't imagine Xiau or Tazel being too happy either." The taur rolled the basketball up his right foreleg and kicked it upward into his hands, chuckling. "I'd be upset too, but that would give me a ton of time to catch the Mudpuppies with my folks. We have a trio of season tickets at the half-court line, front row, with the Providence family name on it. Just because the FBA might not let me play, doesn't mean I'll strike or anything stupid like that. This game means so much more to me than some silly idea of being told I'm too different."
"Glad to hear it. I don't think the other three taurs would agree, but kudos for having the heart to be that open-minded."
"Well, I may be different, but I'm proud of what my parents created by having me and refuse to let anyone else sway that opinion. I look forward to the league's decision, so I can plan on either bringing the folks to draft day, or going to their house and watching the draft there, while going over the season's schedule to plan our trips to Biloxi. I double-majored in journalism and broadcasting, so I might see if Biloxi needs a gameday analyst or any other sort of personnel in the booth if it comes to that. Maybe even work as a beat writer or a sports columnist. Of course my dream is always going to be as an FBA player, but as soon as I reached college, I realized that even they don't play forever, and I need a plan for beyond that career. So, I worked extra-hard to prepare for any situation that came up, and with the recent proposal, I'm even more glad that I did."
"You know, I think I'm gonna hate it if that rule passes, Merill." Joseph sighed to himself and scrawled more on his notepad, seeming deep in thought.
"Oh? And why's that, Joe?" The taur seemed even more curious about that scrawling than the hyena's expressions.
"I'll let you figure that one out on your own..." Joseph responded, with a sly wink to the raccoontaur.
And for the second time in a week, Joseph took a basketball back from Merill's hands, and the two shared a friendly embrace with the ball between their bodies. They parted once again, but this time, before leaving, Merill lifted his right foreleg, and used it to give Joseph a 'handshake' of sorts. The hyena, though undoubtedly a bit weirded out by the sensation of shaking a taur's paw, snickered for as long as the pair of paws remained locked. And when it was over. both hyena and raccoontaur left the studio with the widest of smiles pasted upon their snouts...
inkyjinx is one of the best artists I've ever commissioned. Despite the fact that I didn't have enough money to get this image in full sketchy color, she went ahead and did so for free, without me asking for it, just because she's awesome like that. And again, she makes wonderful art, and captures the more playful side of Merill with a great pose, along with wonderfully captured feet and a nicely-placed tongue loll. <3 to you Inky. Lots of it.Love this image? Give love to the original here!
Art ©
Thumbnailer ©
and 
FBA, Biloxi Mudpuppies ©
(feel free to correct me on any of those if I got them wrong)Tazel Tawner ©
Xiau Xian-Xu, Svenia von Thomassen ©
Zenzuela Setheren ©
Antony Rufkin ©
Biloxi Mudpuppies jersey design ©
Story, Merill Providence and Joseph Landon ©
Category Artwork (Digital) / General Furry Art
Species Raccoon
Size 1001 x 1280px
File Size 104.4 kB
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