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Farewell to a True Furry
2 years ago
This past Saturday, the first true furry I ever met passed away in his sleep and he will be missed terribly.
I met Roy Caputo in the 90's at the very first furry convention I ever went to. I had only just discovered that 'furries' were a thing, despite having had an interest in them since my early teens (I blame Disney's Robin Hood). Having come to the understanding that I was not alone in my interest in anthropomorphic characters, I went with my then-wife and was standing in line for some event or other (I don't remember which - probably the burlesque show, of which I had no expectation or real understanding of). I happened to be wearing a T-Shirt by the online comic series called "Sluggy Freelance" referencing their "Quatrix" sequence (Matrix meets Quake, I guess) and while I was conversing with my wife, I kept moving back and forth. At one point, this tall, lanky fellow with a big smile and a salt-and-pepper mustache and beard taps me on the shoulder and says, "Would you mind holding still for a moment? I'm trying to read your T-shirt!"
Thus started one of the strongest friendships I have had in my life. Roy was a teacher of computer programming for a variety of companies at the time, working part-time while living with his family. He had built a number of computers and had a small shop/shed in their backyard where he had a LAN setup containing 5 or 6 computer systems. An avid role-player, he began participating in my D&D 3.0 campaigns, GURPS Cyberpunk and various other RPGs, almost always choosing to play a furry wolf, which was his "true self" as he used to say. In my cyberpunk world, Roy's character was one of the scientists who helped figure out the fur distribution problem that had, up until that sequencing was complete, meant that biosculpts were thickly-furred and therefore suffered from severe heat issues that led them to wearing minimal-to-no clothing - and which therefore caused a massive cultural uproar as people weren't quite ready to see naked fur-folk walking down their cyberpunk streets. I wrote a series about his character and his (along with other characters') efforts to stay alive and even had a commission drawn of him and the rest of the gang.
I used to go to his place every Friday evening after work, driving an hour and a half through Los Angeles traffic to get to his place so we could play as much Unreal Tournament 2004 as we could handle before the motion sickness got to us, and then playing Empire Earth until the wee hours of the morning. Sometimes, I would drive home as the sun came up, the game lasted so long.
Roy's mother made phenomenal food for us and was always welcoming. We played at his house from time to time, telling wild stories as we played our games late into the night. Sometimes, we would spend the night there, only to return home the next morning with even more ideas and more fun games in our heads. For New Years 2000, we went to a magic show at Universal Studies in Los Angeles and rang in the New Year together. We were attached at the hip, you could say.
When I went to Japan in 2003, Roy happily gave me one of his laptops to use to communicate with everyone back home in the States while I lived over there teaching English. Thanks to him, I was able to stay in contact with everyone, making my own blog (called "Baka Gaijin" - which means "stupid foreigner" in Japanese). I posted pictures of our travels, told stories about the things we did while we were there... Upon returning from Japan later that year, I gave him back his laptop...
And then moved across the country to Florida, where I have lived ever since. I lost track of Roy in the interim. He wasn't a texter or a social media user, so keeping up with him was not something that came naturally, and as I am not much of a phone user, I rarely thought to call him. I heard of him through my friends back in Los Angeles that he was doing well and that they were still playing games and going about their lives until this last weekend, when I heard from a dear friend that he hadn't made it to their Star Trek game and that something was wrong.
Roy passed away in his sleep last Saturday, leaving a lot of friends who will miss him dearly. I count myself among that number as, even though I was too caught up in my own life to keep up with his, I still considered him to be one of my best friends. Learning of his death has affected me more than I can say. Not only for the loss of the chance to finally catch up with him, but because he was a true soulmate. He was the first true furry I ever met and we loved each other like brothers.
The world is lessened with his loss.
Rest in peace, dear wolf. Your true pack awaits in the wild fields, where you can run forever and be your true self at last.
I met Roy Caputo in the 90's at the very first furry convention I ever went to. I had only just discovered that 'furries' were a thing, despite having had an interest in them since my early teens (I blame Disney's Robin Hood). Having come to the understanding that I was not alone in my interest in anthropomorphic characters, I went with my then-wife and was standing in line for some event or other (I don't remember which - probably the burlesque show, of which I had no expectation or real understanding of). I happened to be wearing a T-Shirt by the online comic series called "Sluggy Freelance" referencing their "Quatrix" sequence (Matrix meets Quake, I guess) and while I was conversing with my wife, I kept moving back and forth. At one point, this tall, lanky fellow with a big smile and a salt-and-pepper mustache and beard taps me on the shoulder and says, "Would you mind holding still for a moment? I'm trying to read your T-shirt!"
Thus started one of the strongest friendships I have had in my life. Roy was a teacher of computer programming for a variety of companies at the time, working part-time while living with his family. He had built a number of computers and had a small shop/shed in their backyard where he had a LAN setup containing 5 or 6 computer systems. An avid role-player, he began participating in my D&D 3.0 campaigns, GURPS Cyberpunk and various other RPGs, almost always choosing to play a furry wolf, which was his "true self" as he used to say. In my cyberpunk world, Roy's character was one of the scientists who helped figure out the fur distribution problem that had, up until that sequencing was complete, meant that biosculpts were thickly-furred and therefore suffered from severe heat issues that led them to wearing minimal-to-no clothing - and which therefore caused a massive cultural uproar as people weren't quite ready to see naked fur-folk walking down their cyberpunk streets. I wrote a series about his character and his (along with other characters') efforts to stay alive and even had a commission drawn of him and the rest of the gang.
I used to go to his place every Friday evening after work, driving an hour and a half through Los Angeles traffic to get to his place so we could play as much Unreal Tournament 2004 as we could handle before the motion sickness got to us, and then playing Empire Earth until the wee hours of the morning. Sometimes, I would drive home as the sun came up, the game lasted so long.
Roy's mother made phenomenal food for us and was always welcoming. We played at his house from time to time, telling wild stories as we played our games late into the night. Sometimes, we would spend the night there, only to return home the next morning with even more ideas and more fun games in our heads. For New Years 2000, we went to a magic show at Universal Studies in Los Angeles and rang in the New Year together. We were attached at the hip, you could say.
When I went to Japan in 2003, Roy happily gave me one of his laptops to use to communicate with everyone back home in the States while I lived over there teaching English. Thanks to him, I was able to stay in contact with everyone, making my own blog (called "Baka Gaijin" - which means "stupid foreigner" in Japanese). I posted pictures of our travels, told stories about the things we did while we were there... Upon returning from Japan later that year, I gave him back his laptop...
And then moved across the country to Florida, where I have lived ever since. I lost track of Roy in the interim. He wasn't a texter or a social media user, so keeping up with him was not something that came naturally, and as I am not much of a phone user, I rarely thought to call him. I heard of him through my friends back in Los Angeles that he was doing well and that they were still playing games and going about their lives until this last weekend, when I heard from a dear friend that he hadn't made it to their Star Trek game and that something was wrong.
Roy passed away in his sleep last Saturday, leaving a lot of friends who will miss him dearly. I count myself among that number as, even though I was too caught up in my own life to keep up with his, I still considered him to be one of my best friends. Learning of his death has affected me more than I can say. Not only for the loss of the chance to finally catch up with him, but because he was a true soulmate. He was the first true furry I ever met and we loved each other like brothers.
The world is lessened with his loss.
Rest in peace, dear wolf. Your true pack awaits in the wild fields, where you can run forever and be your true self at last.
Vix
I NEED to find a way to get a room at Megaplex so I can meet and see you guys again. I'm not as outgoing in person as I am online, but damn does it feel great to be there with you guys!
I miss getting a room at Megaplex too. I might go to bed early, but it's still wonderful laying in bed and listening to the 'aroooosssss'. Now I go just for the day, and drive back and forth.
Like you fc... I might not say much, but you're special too... it's always good to see you...
Vix
I am sorry Neko for the loss of your packmate. To those true self fields.
*Hugs*
Please know that you have a true friend in me. If you ever need me, please let me know and I will do anything I can to help. Even if it's from halfway across the country.
Your a good friend too.
I'll keep that in mind, though it is pretty much the entire country in distance.
I have had some similar experiences to what you describe. Kind of funny that you were in LA around the same time as me. I wonder if we ever crossed paths at one point.
(I went to the PS parties on a rare occasion, went to the FurBQ almost every year, hung out with some of the furry packs in the area)
Your relationship was a rich, earnest and long one, truly a life-within-a-life.
May we all live lives worthy of such kind and admiring words at the end.