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Finally Letting Non-Furry Friends Know I Am A Furry
10 years ago
General
WARNING: This journal entry is extremely long, but heck, it is 10+ years in the making and the day had a lot of fun little quirks to it that I wanted to record while I remembered it all. That said, here is my tale (tail?) of how I let my close group of friends know I was a fursuiter:
After going to conventions for 10+ years I am finally opening up a bit and letting non-furry friends know I am a furry. I have attended every Morphicon since 2005 (only missed their first one in 2004 since I didn't know if it at that point), been to Furlaxation, Fur Reality, Fur Squared, suited at Ohayocon and a number of Columbus Gallery Hops, house parties, been on staff for Morphicon for a few years, etc., but never let any of my "normal" friends have any clue I was into anything furry. As I got more involved it was becoming a bit tougher, and I really did want to let them know about the fun aspects of suiting, conventions, and some of the good friends I've made through furry connections.
Normally I am a very conservative, traditional sort of guy who does not like to stand out, was never big on fantasy, haven't dressed up for Halloween since I was in 5th grade, etc, so I knew it would twist their brains to find out that I was into furry and had a fursuit of my own. It has been a few years since I have wanted to open up to them about it, but just never found the right way or time, although I did come close a few times.
In early May my friend
Iiiix had me "out" myself as a fursuiter to some of his family through Skype. I had met them before and knew they were a fun group and into dressing up and fantasy, so I wasn't too apprehensive about it. It was a lot of fun to see and hear their reactions It also made me more desirous to be able to open up to my friends about it too.
Saturday, June 6, 2015 I finally took the plunge. Two of my friends were working at Pathfinder RPG room at the Origins Game Fair (they are husband and wife, and she was working as Dungeon Master for three scenarios a day) Wednesday-Sunday at the Columbus Convention Center, right across the street from the North Market, where a bunch of furries (good mix of suiters and non-suiters) meet for the Gallery Hop along the Short North each month. As luck would have it, the Saturday of Origins happened to be a Gallery Hop Saturday
I had been spending each day with my friends at Origins. Any time they notices someone in costume they'd give compliments, and they thought it was great when one of the other dungeon masters made an entrance in a foam suit of armor. Saturday morning I took advantage of the opportunity to paint an RPG miniature for free, then took it up to the Pathfinder room to show my friends and leave it with their stuff to dry. I then managed to sneak away in the late afternoon to change into Jaru. I put my Origins badge that had my legal name on it between two of my Jaru badges, then wandered around Origins a bit, and wandered through the room where the Pathfinder games were being run. My one friend got a kick out of Jaru and called me over to get a better look, then said he was sure he know who I was. I nodded that he knew me, but he was convinced I was one of the people who had played Pathfinder before. I shook my head no. It was driving him nuts wanting to know who it was, so I showed him my Origins badge and he sat stunned for a bit with a huge grin on his face. He had to get back to his game so I left him alone, and my other friend was busy running a scenario so I didn't want to interfere and left as she tossed an imaginary ball for me to chase.
Prior to changing into Jaru a third friend who is very big into photography had been wandering the public areas of the convention center, and he also shows up to the Gallery Hop each month to take photos (for some reason I never crossed paths with him at the hops, though this year he did unwittingly stop me on a stairwell at Ohayocon to take a couple of shots of me in Jaru, but he was on the other side of the railing and by the time I came around he was gone, and I never did find him again.) I joined him for a bit at Origins, then said I was going to go into the con areas to play some games, but was going to meet some friends from out of town in front of the North Market a bit after 5:30pm and he was welcome to swing by and meet them.
After wandering through the Pathfinder room and other areas of Origins I made my way to the Vine Street garage to meet the rest of the group as they got suited up. When everyone was ready to head out I ended up being the first to round the corner to the North Market. I saw my friend sitting on the ledge and went over and sat beside him. He gave me an odd look then returned to looking at his phone. As the rest of the crew rounded the corner he asked if they were friends of mine. I responded "Uh-Huh!" in Jaru's voice, then said "And you know me too!" He looked startled and confused, then tried to stare into Jaru's eyes to see who was inside. He couldn't give a guess as to who it was inside. When I showed him my Origins badge he was completely stunned, shaking his head and saying "Nnnnooooo, it can't be!" I nodded and said "uh-huh!" Then he asked how long I had the suit. When I said "Two years!" he about fell off the ledge!
I thought he'd stick around for the group shots then go his own way, but he ended up hanging out with us for the entire walk up and back, acting as a handler at times and taking photos. He seemed to be a bit bewildered, but enjoyed it, and it was nice to have him see how non-furries reacted to us in a setting like that, interacting with people of all ages, people walking dogs, little kids, street performers, etc.
At the end of the walk my friend went back to the Hop to get more pictures of the rest of the activities while I returned to Origins, making another round through the Pathfinder room along the way. I also ended up wandering into a big room where nine simultaneous rounds of "Are You A Werewolf?" were being played. INSTANTLY everyone in the room raised a hand and pointed at me with the other, shouting "Werewolf!" and "Kill him!" I tried to explain that it was still daylight, and a werewolf would be in human form at that time of day, so obviously I was not a werewolf, but that did not seem to convince anyone. After a few photos it seemed to still be fairly chaotic so I figured it was best to leave before the moderators got too upset with me.
After wandering Origins some more and having some security guards take pictures of me with the giant blow up Mayfair sheep mascots I decided it was getting pretty late and time to head home. I swung by the Pathfinder room one more time to pick up my dry miniature. My friends were playing a scenario over in a corner of the room, so I walked over to them. My one friend tried to pretend like he still didn't know how I was, but that he enjoyed the suit and was still curious. His wife is a VERY serious player and would only give me a cursory glance now and then. I set my miniature between them on the table. She gave me a stern look and said "Where did you get that? That belongs to our friend!" I nodded. She said "That's not yours, that belongs to Jim!" I nodded again and pointed at myself. She was getting a bit aggravated and said "No, you better put that back where you found it!" Her husband couldn't hold back any more and started laughing. She asked him if he know who I was, and he said "It's Jim!" She looked at me, said "No!", looked at her husband, then back and me and repeated "No!", looked at the miniature and then back at me and again said "No!" I showed her my Origins badge and she said "It can't be!", then laughed and asked for a hug before returning to their game.
So far I have yet to get into any discussions of furry with them, but I do not foresee any issues
Photo from the Gallery Hop taken by my photographer friend who goes by his initials "klf" in photography groups:
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/16905120/
After going to conventions for 10+ years I am finally opening up a bit and letting non-furry friends know I am a furry. I have attended every Morphicon since 2005 (only missed their first one in 2004 since I didn't know if it at that point), been to Furlaxation, Fur Reality, Fur Squared, suited at Ohayocon and a number of Columbus Gallery Hops, house parties, been on staff for Morphicon for a few years, etc., but never let any of my "normal" friends have any clue I was into anything furry. As I got more involved it was becoming a bit tougher, and I really did want to let them know about the fun aspects of suiting, conventions, and some of the good friends I've made through furry connections.
Normally I am a very conservative, traditional sort of guy who does not like to stand out, was never big on fantasy, haven't dressed up for Halloween since I was in 5th grade, etc, so I knew it would twist their brains to find out that I was into furry and had a fursuit of my own. It has been a few years since I have wanted to open up to them about it, but just never found the right way or time, although I did come close a few times.
In early May my friend
Iiiix had me "out" myself as a fursuiter to some of his family through Skype. I had met them before and knew they were a fun group and into dressing up and fantasy, so I wasn't too apprehensive about it. It was a lot of fun to see and hear their reactions It also made me more desirous to be able to open up to my friends about it too.Saturday, June 6, 2015 I finally took the plunge. Two of my friends were working at Pathfinder RPG room at the Origins Game Fair (they are husband and wife, and she was working as Dungeon Master for three scenarios a day) Wednesday-Sunday at the Columbus Convention Center, right across the street from the North Market, where a bunch of furries (good mix of suiters and non-suiters) meet for the Gallery Hop along the Short North each month. As luck would have it, the Saturday of Origins happened to be a Gallery Hop Saturday
I had been spending each day with my friends at Origins. Any time they notices someone in costume they'd give compliments, and they thought it was great when one of the other dungeon masters made an entrance in a foam suit of armor. Saturday morning I took advantage of the opportunity to paint an RPG miniature for free, then took it up to the Pathfinder room to show my friends and leave it with their stuff to dry. I then managed to sneak away in the late afternoon to change into Jaru. I put my Origins badge that had my legal name on it between two of my Jaru badges, then wandered around Origins a bit, and wandered through the room where the Pathfinder games were being run. My one friend got a kick out of Jaru and called me over to get a better look, then said he was sure he know who I was. I nodded that he knew me, but he was convinced I was one of the people who had played Pathfinder before. I shook my head no. It was driving him nuts wanting to know who it was, so I showed him my Origins badge and he sat stunned for a bit with a huge grin on his face. He had to get back to his game so I left him alone, and my other friend was busy running a scenario so I didn't want to interfere and left as she tossed an imaginary ball for me to chase.
Prior to changing into Jaru a third friend who is very big into photography had been wandering the public areas of the convention center, and he also shows up to the Gallery Hop each month to take photos (for some reason I never crossed paths with him at the hops, though this year he did unwittingly stop me on a stairwell at Ohayocon to take a couple of shots of me in Jaru, but he was on the other side of the railing and by the time I came around he was gone, and I never did find him again.) I joined him for a bit at Origins, then said I was going to go into the con areas to play some games, but was going to meet some friends from out of town in front of the North Market a bit after 5:30pm and he was welcome to swing by and meet them.
After wandering through the Pathfinder room and other areas of Origins I made my way to the Vine Street garage to meet the rest of the group as they got suited up. When everyone was ready to head out I ended up being the first to round the corner to the North Market. I saw my friend sitting on the ledge and went over and sat beside him. He gave me an odd look then returned to looking at his phone. As the rest of the crew rounded the corner he asked if they were friends of mine. I responded "Uh-Huh!" in Jaru's voice, then said "And you know me too!" He looked startled and confused, then tried to stare into Jaru's eyes to see who was inside. He couldn't give a guess as to who it was inside. When I showed him my Origins badge he was completely stunned, shaking his head and saying "Nnnnooooo, it can't be!" I nodded and said "uh-huh!" Then he asked how long I had the suit. When I said "Two years!" he about fell off the ledge!
I thought he'd stick around for the group shots then go his own way, but he ended up hanging out with us for the entire walk up and back, acting as a handler at times and taking photos. He seemed to be a bit bewildered, but enjoyed it, and it was nice to have him see how non-furries reacted to us in a setting like that, interacting with people of all ages, people walking dogs, little kids, street performers, etc.
At the end of the walk my friend went back to the Hop to get more pictures of the rest of the activities while I returned to Origins, making another round through the Pathfinder room along the way. I also ended up wandering into a big room where nine simultaneous rounds of "Are You A Werewolf?" were being played. INSTANTLY everyone in the room raised a hand and pointed at me with the other, shouting "Werewolf!" and "Kill him!" I tried to explain that it was still daylight, and a werewolf would be in human form at that time of day, so obviously I was not a werewolf, but that did not seem to convince anyone. After a few photos it seemed to still be fairly chaotic so I figured it was best to leave before the moderators got too upset with me.
After wandering Origins some more and having some security guards take pictures of me with the giant blow up Mayfair sheep mascots I decided it was getting pretty late and time to head home. I swung by the Pathfinder room one more time to pick up my dry miniature. My friends were playing a scenario over in a corner of the room, so I walked over to them. My one friend tried to pretend like he still didn't know how I was, but that he enjoyed the suit and was still curious. His wife is a VERY serious player and would only give me a cursory glance now and then. I set my miniature between them on the table. She gave me a stern look and said "Where did you get that? That belongs to our friend!" I nodded. She said "That's not yours, that belongs to Jim!" I nodded again and pointed at myself. She was getting a bit aggravated and said "No, you better put that back where you found it!" Her husband couldn't hold back any more and started laughing. She asked him if he know who I was, and he said "It's Jim!" She looked at me, said "No!", looked at her husband, then back and me and repeated "No!", looked at the miniature and then back at me and again said "No!" I showed her my Origins badge and she said "It can't be!", then laughed and asked for a hug before returning to their game.
So far I have yet to get into any discussions of furry with them, but I do not foresee any issues
Photo from the Gallery Hop taken by my photographer friend who goes by his initials "klf" in photography groups:
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/16905120/
I have known that for a fair while, but still was hard for me to take that jump. But when I did share with them I definitely owned it :P Hard not to while in full fursuit out and about in public, goofing around with others