Furries

Furries. “an enthusiast for animal characters with human characteristics, in particular a person who dresses up in costume as such a character or uses one as an avatar online.” They have had a beating in the past for their work, but they're coming back stronger than ever. I spoke to a furry, Michael, about his fursona, and when he finally came out to being one. He stated that he knew about 2 years ago, on a bright, sunny May morning. He had heard the night before on twitter that a ton of furries were going to come together this morning and have a rally to try and get more rights. He thought about it, and he knew this would be the perfect time to show the world his true form. His grandfather had bought him a suit, right before he died. They had always been very close. His grandfather had to been a furry, and told no one except Michael. His grandfather, aka Keith, was an oyster, because he loved when his mother would cook them for dinner. So in remembrance of his grandfather, Michael was an oyster furry.

He woke up, excited but scared as to what was going to come at the rally. He grabbed his suit from under his bed, but had to shake it a little from all the dust that it had collected over the years. He shed a tear and felt it roll down his furry cheek. He checked the time and quickly dressed into it. He had nothing under it, just him and his pure fur suit. Skin to skin with no separation. He hopped in his 2005 dodge caravan and zoomed off to his destination. He got there, and saw barely anyone, but as he waltzed a little further, someone grabbed his shoulder. He was startled and let out a little yelp, just to notice it was a fellow furry friend, Jess. He informed him that the rally had changed locations and was now about 5 minutes north. Michael had known Jess throughout school, but never knew this fact about him. He couldn’t believe that out of everyone at school, Jess was a furry, but times change, and so do people I guess. Well they walked to the changed location, and caught up with one another. Jess had recently become a children's soccer coach, and lived alone in an apartment underground. Apparently in a pretty sketchy area, or in what people called the hood. They finally got there, and Michael's jaw dropped. There were at least 300 furries there. It looked amazing. This was all he wanted in life. His own kind coming together, meeting one another, and having the time of their life. They were in the middle of the city, so everyone knew they were there at this point. He heard a howl and everyone turned their heads to face the center of everyone. There, on a platform, was someone wearing the most stunning fur suit he had ever laid eyes on. It was a fox, and the tail was a work of art on its own. The person whipped off their head piece to reveal a man whose furry name was the TheGrimReaper, but was better known as Aaron. He shouted out for all to hear that today was the day the furry community would prove its dominance to everyone and show them how strong they were. They started marching along the streets, chanting, as people looked out through their windows with disapproving looks. Despite the hate, Michael felt the best he had in years. He was doing something he had a passion for, along with others that felt the same.

Michael and I talked for a while after, when I was interviewing him, and the kid had a lot to say. I got a lot of insight from him and learned quite a bit. This was a very inspiring conversation I had with Michael. Thank you for reading.