Furry Conventions Update!

Finnigan Here:

Where in the world have I been? Around, doing furry things, going to conventions, planning a costume I'm gonna put to use this summer, and working, so I can go to more conventions, of course.





Well. My first convention I ever went to was a success and a blast. It sparked a love for the fandom that I didn't think I had. It was exciting and awesome and I didn't really want to go home! I just wanted to dance in suit.
Here's the fursuit parade for Furnal Equinox 2011


Here I am after the dancing at like 2 AM, I took off a lot of clothes and you can see my skin, but I didn't really care for dancing cause it's dark and it was hothothot in there.


And then I went to Furry Connection North, in Novi, MI. It wasn't too impressive, to be honest, needed a bit of work on the panels and stuff, but the dances were great and my friends were awesome! Here's a clip of Saturday's Dance. I'm in there somewhere.





I also have tons and tons of pictures, but I'll save them for another post.
Sadly, I am not going to Anthrocon, it's far far too expensive for me to do that. It's an idea for next year, but there's plenty of small cons I think I'd rather go to. The next Convention I will be attending will be Condition: Red in London, Ontario July 22ndish. :D

Have a good one, guys!

How Your Fursona Relates to Your Personality...

Finnigan Posting;

Today, I'm polling the furry masses. I'm asking this question:
How does Your Fursona Species Reflect Your Personality?
It's the basic fundamental building block to becoming a "furry" and finding yourself as a person. Usually when a person picks a fursona, they choose animals that best reflect themselves or what they would like to be as a person.
(Ps; this is a super long blog post)



Here's my answer:
My fursona directly relates to who I am. Her actions are the actions I would make on my own. I'm a very proud and loyal person, while still maintaining self-preservation. I'm Finnigan, the arctic wolf.
Most of us all know wolf characteristic traits. They're commonly depicted as family/pack based animals, keen hunters, adaptable, persistent, a love for the night, and a love for fun. They're strong, graceful animals that can live in the harshest conditions. These canines are easily admired, but also quickly feared because their intelligence surpasses what we think they have. Wolves are also very shy creatures, contradicting the stereotype that these animals attack humans.

Finnigan and her IRL cousin,
Sylver, the fox.

I would love to think of myself as a loyal, loving person. Family means everything to me, no matter what. Nothing was better than running as a "pack" of young children with my cousins growing up. I did have the "pack", and the dynamics that came with it, that most people wished for. Some of my best memories were from romping around with my best friends and family through the bush. Living in the country in Canada we get that option of having a whole forest/bush to ourselves, and we took full advantage of it.
Although I am proud, loud and sometimes annoying with my "ALL CAPS" talk on MSN and online. I am a very shy person if I am in a very small group, with a lot of people I don't know. I often hide behind my mate if the option is there. If there is a need for me to step up to the plate and come out of my shell, I most certainly will. Let me note, me being shy, only lasts for 20 minutes or so. Tops. I guess I'm a leader by nature. I'm able to take the lead when need be. But I'm lazy as heck, so if somebody else that was responsible wanted to take the ropes, I would be more than willing to hand over the lead.
So, uhm... That's pretty much my personality and my fursona species in a nutshell. - Finnigan, 18, Canada

Now here's what some other furs have to say:

Tundru, Dire Wolf

I'd say my fursona's personality is similar to mine though there's a lot that's different. For example, Tundru is more self confidant then I am and more dominant. So there are parts of my fursona that reflect me (such as my kind, down to earth side) but at the same time there are parts that are very different. I'd say my fursona is a combination of me and the person I want to be. Though that's the appeal isn't it? Being someone you're not?

I chose a Dire Wolf because I wanted to feel more unique. In a fandom full of grey wolves and foxes I wanted to stand out. Very few people had used Dire Wolves so I jumped on it. 

- Tundru, 22, Canada

Gallifreyan, Wolf

My Fursona best represents me because I'm a naturally social person. But only social within the family and friend circle I have. It takes me a while to trust people but when I do they become a life long friend. I'm curious and inquistive and very possessive.

- Gallifreyan, 23, England

Kei, Japanese Bobtail

When I became part of the fandom, i decided that, to chose my fursona, I'd examine the different aspects of my life, including personality, habits, likes and dislikes, etc... I chose a to be a domestic cat. More specifically, a Japanese Bobtail. My reasoning is thus: I tend to share many personality aspects with a cat, such as laziness, love of food, love of sleep, cuddling, can work well with others, but mostly independent. I also love to lay in the sun a nap. :P I chose the specific breed because of my love for Japan, which is fairly obvious, and wanted something a little more unique than a typical cat. Not many furries with cat 'sonas have a bobbed tail (like Japanese bobtails and Manx's do). I also think they're adorable.
-Kei, 21, Canada.

This is just a tidbit of what I got for responses: Click Here for More Comments on this topic!
 If you're interested in sharing a story with us; This blog allows non-followers and non-Blogspot users to Comment. After moderation they will be posted (to avoid those pesky trolls) and you can share how your fursona matches your personality! :)

Taking the plunge!

So Saturday was the advent of my loss of Furginity!

I have not experienced such a euphoric and bonded feeling between a group of people in my entire life. Despite not fur suiting people wore their tails around the City centre, being the bashful creature I am I was naturally wary of being ridiculed and stared at by people... and though they did stare nothing was really said by anyone. The day went brilliantly and I am proud to be associated with these people who are now akin to family in my mind.

To meet with a group of strangfurs (hurr) and be accepted by so many friendly people, some of who I had not spoken to even online... The experience was amazing.

I took my non-Furry fiancé with me, and I will be asking him to add something to my next blog post, we’ll see if he will. After the meet we talked about how it went. I explained to him that I felt completely safe and sure that this is who I am. And while he respects me, he was still a little embarrassed at the glances and stares we attracted from others. He stayed and supported me and my choice to be myself.

A breaking moment occurred however...
A minority group of five or six young 'men' started shouting at a member of our group (no names mentioned) as we walked, based upon his image (which I will add was fairly normal to the standards of others walking around). They got closer intending to intimidate him and noticed him and a number of the group wearing tails and immediately stepped up their abuse. I and my fiancé were walking behind them, at the lead of the slower members of the group watching what they were doing. Ignorance is meant to be the best policy for these sorts of thugs, right?
Well, their verbal abuse wasn't good enough for them and one of their numbers decided to get right behind and attempt to grab the tail of the guy in our group. Despite my fiancés reservations about our image in public he and I stepped our pace up and shouldered the goon out of the way and stayed on the heels of our friend to keep them at bay. It worked and they soon hung back from us, and eventually distanced themselves.

I cannot understand how a minority group can't grasp the hypocrisy of them ridiculing someone for the way they look and how they felt it appropriate to harass someone based on something so trivial.

This sort of thing was what I was concerned about, the stigma of being 'odd' in a culture that breeds intolerance towards anything out of the ordinary. Whether that be dressing differently, wearing make-up or wearing a tail/partial fur suit.

So, will I do it again?
Of course I will.
Out of all the people in that City centre on a Saturday only one immature group of people chose to single any of us out and firstly it was not based on wearing a tail.
The group of 10-15 people I was with were more than friendly enough to make that minor blip in the day smooth out. And even the one girl who was interested in us all that came up and spoke to us about what we were doing. These things make it worth being true to yourself and being proud about it.

I may be a while before I have as much courage and pride as the people I met on Saturday but I admire them so much for it. And yes I am proud to be a Furry.

**As dear Finnigan said in her last post none of us would advocate meeting a group of people you haven’t met before under the age of 18, if you feel better take someone with you and get emergency contact numbers,