construction:humor

Humor

Having a sense of humor about yourself while in fursuit and around it can be important in the way you handle it and people.

http://www.furnation.com/humor/ - Furry Humor Archive

What is a fanboy? - http://www.chameleon.net/~diadexxus/fanboy/fanboy.htm

Cloudchaser's page on You Might Be A Furry Fan/Lifestyler if… - http://www.cloudchasershaconage.furtopia.org/youmight.htm

Spot the were - http://www.swampfox.demon.co.uk/utlah/Humour/Furballs/spotwere.html

You might be a furry if...

From: Matt “Mouse” Brady
- You take a minimum wage weekend job to be furry, when you already make $50k/yr
- You quit your $50,000/yr real job to become a $15,000/yr freelance animal
- You buy fur by the bolt so you can maintain your suits into the next millenium
- You check to see how many mouse heads fit in the trunk before buying a new car
- You get married in a bearsuit to another person in a bearsuit
- Women like you better when you are in an animal suit
- You boss threatens to glue your costume zipper shut & the prospect excites you
- Your neighbor won't let you use her washer because your fur clogs the pipes

From: John Mays
-Your wife finds a blond hair on your good slacks, and matches it to your most recent costume.

From: Panther Free Press
- you realise that more people know you by nickname / character name than your birth name.
- you legaly have your birth certificate changed to your character name.
- you wear your costume while on FurryMUCK, #furry, or while watching cartoons, just to be 'in the mood'.
- without thinking about it, you occasionaly lick your hands clean before considering washing them.
- you've named your hard-drive after a cartoon character.
- you've named your hard drive after an X-rated character (Omaha, Silkie, and so on…)
- your collection of GIF & JpEG images outnumbers control panels.
- your collection of images includes at least 3 illegally scanned works.
- someone scratches you behind your ear and you melt into a small puddle of pleasure. (This is the official test, BTW…)
- your personality completely changes when you're “In the furr”… (This may cross borders a simple catt shouldn't delve into…)
- your favorite albums are from the Muppet Show, Sesame Street, and “Meet the Peebles” (Or was it Feebles?)
- you have a collection of animal accessories (collars with tags, leashes, and so forth…)
- you watch cartoons and wonder how you could make a working costume for (bing-bing-BIIIIIINGGGG!) “Ricochet Rabbit” (PA-Tang!), Hong-Kong Fooey, El-Kabong (Or Baba-Louie), or the Thundercats (HO!).
- you understood all of the last refrences… (See also “You might be an overweight, unmotivated American youth if…” The last comment is on there too…)

From: “T. Wolf”
….you choose your favorite sports teams based on how cool their mascots are
….you know the team's mascot better than you know the players
….you have a trampoline in your basement in hopes that one day you will learn to dunk like the Minnesota Timberwolf (or any other comparable NBA mascot)

From: Flinthoof Sharis
-You root for the pony during a rodeo…
-You want a refund after seeing what the players are like after seeing a Seahawks and Bronco's game.
-You consider the Muppet Show a news program.

From: Fuzzy Tiger
- you've named your license plate after a cartoon character.
- you find it hard *not* to smile and wave at people you don't know when you are in a public place and not in the fur.

From: Brian Hagen
-That's a definite job hazard for walkaround characters. :) Great America has been closed for the winter for almost two months now, and I _still_ occasionally catch myself leaning down to hug passing kids. And I've given up trying to stop myself from smiling & waving at them. It's just become too much of a reflex. :)

From: 'Greysting' [Ron Orr]
…furry costuming begins interfering with your social life.
…furry costuming _becomes_ your social life.
…you begin developing Pygmalion fixations on your latest costume.

From: Matthew E. Gove
- you have more than 10 video tapes of people in furry costumes.
- you see a plushie and think 'that would make a cool costume.'
- you sleep in costume.
- you watch parades just to see the animal costumes..
- you own more than 10 sweatbands..
- you're constantly picking bits of fake fur out of everything you own..
- you start putting clothes in boxes to make room for animal suits.
- you build a barn to store your animal suits. ;)
- you drive 200mi just to wear an animal suit.
- you spend mountains of $$$ on items to stay cool in costume.
- your costume collection is worth more than your car/house..
- you've ever said 'droolworthy' in reference to a costume.
- you wear animal suits at home.
- you've spent _any_ time thinking of excuses to wear animal suits.
- you've ever thought about skiing/hangliding/skydiving/bungee jumping in an animal suit..
- you'll watch 3 hours of boring movie just to see a 2 second clip of an animal suit..
- you watch dumb kid shows just to see the costumes..

From: Rapid T. Rabbit
- you think The Banana Splits is one of the greatest rock'n'roll bands of all time
- you'll travel by bus 30 miles into the next state just to eat pizza at Chuck E.Cheese's and play air hockey with a mouse
- you've waited years for the movie “Pufnstuf” to come out on home video
- you've spent more time hanging around Looney Tunes Land instead of waiting in line for thrill rides at Six Flags
- you only shop at malls that have a Warner Bros.Studio Store, a Disney Store AND a Sesame Street General Store
- your friends have to keep pulling you away from the characters whenever you visit an amusement park
- you're not just imagining that people treat you differently when you're wearing a furry costume
- you think nothing of taking public transit in a rabbit or bear costume
- you can stand in a crowd watching a parade in costume and get those marching in the parade to watch YOU
- you'll take a trip to Disney World over a trip Around the world any day
- you've spent countless sleepless nights editing your furry antics on video tape
- you're goal in visiting The White House is to rub elbows with Snoopy and Garfield rather than shaking hands with The President
- you wind up having people take your picture spontaneously
- you keep getting mistaken for some really famous character
- you've actually attempted intelligent conversations with costumed characters

You might be a furry when… - http://web.archive.org/web/20031207103729/http://www.bright.net/~greddy/furry.htm
[Maintainer's note: I may be able to include this site in the FAQ if the author is willing to do this.]

You know you're a furry fan when… http://www.furry.org.au/mayfurr/ykyaffw.htm

You know you're a fursuiter when...

From: Michael “Big Bear” Setzer

Here's a playful look at fursuiters and their culture. I hope you have as much fun reading this as I did creating it.
o You receive a letter from S C Johnson Co. (makers of Enbac) personally thanking you for the support of their product.
o When undressing you instinctively reach for the zipper in the back.
o You have a headshot of your fursuit on your driver's license/state ID.
o You feel naked without your fursuit.
o You know your fellow fursuiters more by the names of the characters they play than their real names.
o You find yourself using pantomine rather than talking to get your point across.
o You think nothing of subsisting for months on water and Ramen Noodles ™ to be able to afford that new fursuit you want.
o You go to an amusement park just to hang out with the costumed characters.
o You're so used to the limited vision that your fursuit provides that you will often bump into things and trip on things even when out of your fursuit.
o You don't have any childern, yet you have videotapes of programs such as Barney and Friends, Bear in the Big Blue House, Dumbo's Circus, Rimba's Island, and Welcome to Pooh Corner.

From: steven morizio
- when you go out trick or treating in your fursuit and end up with more candy then your neighbor's kids :)

From: FlareWolf
- You see kids on the street and say, “Boy, I wish I brought *name of character* along for the ride!”
- You tuck your fursuit tail inside your pants when you go to work (feline tails mainly, try to hide a fox or skunk tail down there.)
- You express love, sadness, anger and fear, all with a permanant smile drawn on your face out of costume.
- You get caught talking to the case containing your costume, addressing it as the name of your character.
- People start thinking you're gay just because you give hugs and pounce anything that moves (male fursuitters mainly).
- You travel 4 hours to a remote town to see a local festival, just in case they have a costumed character parading in the streets.
- You have tapes of all christmas parades (Disney or otherwise) for the last ten years.
- You can't name at least three players on your local sports team, but can recite the name of all mascots of all NBA, NFL and NHL teams (including those who NEED a mascot! Can't believe the Montreal Canadians still don't have one!)
- A co-worker calls your name, and you turn around, lean your body in his direction, and bring your hand to your ear… which is no longer on top of your head.
- You've been to all costumed character shows, such as Pokemon the Musical, and Rugrats Live!.
- You've brought a new meaning to the words, “Is it me, or is it hot in here?”
- You only use smileys to express yourself in a chat room. ;-)
- You bought yourself a mini-van, just because it could give you room if you need to get changed on the road. (Undressing's easier than getting the pieces together in such a cramped-up space)
- Every time a new animation movie gets out, you plan to go to its studio's theme park to see the character come to life. (Probably llama Cousco's roaming around DisneyLand as I write.)

From: Snap E. Tiger
- Furs start to worship your fursuit and could care less about the person inside.

From: BJButtons

you get s-mail as well as e-mail addressed to your character instead of you,

and your parking permit for a event has your character names on it instead of yours.

Fursuit Lexicon

Compiled By Michael “Ba'ar” Setzer

After fursuiting for a while (and enjoying every minute of it) I thought it would be nice to compile a lexicon of the most commonly used terms in the fursuiting community. After doing some thinking and research and asking around, here's what I came up with.

Character Wrangler: same as spotter or lead. The person who does the talking for the critter who can't

Compression area: an area on a fursuit (such as an arm or knee) that is specially designed to absorb a lot of abuse

Digitigrade: Putting the entirety of ones weight on the toes and balls of the foot, as opposed to plantigrade, walking with weight evenly distributed between heel and balls of the foot.

Fat Suit: A padded suit worn beneath the main fursuit to give the fursuit bulk.

Faux Digitgrade: Type of fursuit design using padding over the knees and calves to simulate an extra joint and digitigrade stance.

Furpile: a pile of 3 or more fursuiters together hugging and or scritching each other

Full body fursuit: fursuit covering the entire length of the body.

Fursuit: a costume worn at sporting events and at conventions usually in the shape of an animal

Handler: a fursuiter's assistant. Usually out of costume, helps guide the fursuiter and keep him or her safe.

Ice Pack (or Cold Vest): Garment worn under a fursuit lined with ice or other cooling material for comfort.

Lookers: People who get as close as possible to you and try to see the person inside the suit.

Mascot Melding or Melding: This applies to suits that are very dark in coloring especially the black fur suits and when a shot is taken the suit blends into the dark background. This happens the most inside the hotels where natural light is limited.

Minute Mascots: These are those folks for whatever reason may not have been seen at con in suit. Either they have made an appearance in other suits or they find wearing a suit too hot and make a short appearance. Anyway they are the ones who only a few of us see or if they do appear in a photo most people find themselves saying “I don't remember seeing that character at the con”.

Monterey Mills: Highly popular and recomended brand of imitation fur fabric.

Mundane: those who are not involved with the furry fandom.

Partial fursuit: bits and pieces of animal costume..generally intended to be worn with street clothing

Pawpet: Animal Puppet

PES (Phantom Ear Syndrome): is much more common though because (imho) of the placement of the tails and the ability to wear them with much better and more realistic effects/feedback than most ear sets do.

Pile: The thickness of a furlike fabric.

Pop the top: Take off the fursuit head.

PTS (Phantom Tail Syndrome): This is the wierd little feeling that you still have your tail on after you've gotten out of suit (Rynger Raccon reports that “I get this every time I've ever been in suit, and I know other fursuiters get this too.”)

Prosthetic: an appliance, usually made of latex worn in lieu of a mask

Scritching (or skritching): to rake one's nails or the paws of a fursuit on the back in greeting

Slush Cast: A latex casting pulled from a mold.

Suit up: put on a fursuit (ex “I'm going to suit up now”)

Spotter: Synonym for Handler

Walkaround: Another synonym for a fursuit, usually refering to theme park or corporate trademark mascot.

Zoot: Synonym for fursuit (lesser used).

Of course this lexicon is by no means complete. Should you have any questions, comments or suggestions for additions, please e-mail me at big_bear@operamail.com. In closing, I wish to thank the talented fursuiters on the Amateur-Fursuit, Fursuit.org and Fursuit Central mailing lists for helping me out in compiling this list.

Character misidentification

From: James Firmiss
Subject: Re: Halloween Reports…

So, how did everyone here spend their Halloween? Anyone have any
interesting stories to tell? I know at least two fursuiters who actually
finished their costumes (a couple of snazzy wolves) and wore them out. I
came -that close- to wearing a costume this time out, but
(c/h/i/c/k/e/n/e/d/o/u/t) something came up at the last moment…probably
a good thing (sour grapes aside), as it was rather drizzly out (and faux
furs don't smell -quite- as bad as real fur when wet, but still…).

I was the one asking about the beady eyes… thanks Lex and everyone else!

I almost didn't bother to do halloween because I hadn't come up with a new costume (I broke out last year's AJ Skunk again). I didn't go out on Halloween night proper (too rainy) but I DID go out on Saturday (28th). [The Saturday before Halloween is Halloween-celebrated for many in Madison due to classes]

I got most of the same reactions as last year from people:
  Drunken Frat Boys --
    "Hey Pepe LePew!"
    "Hey you stink!" "I can smell your a**" "You smell like sh*t"
    One guy thought it was cool to hold the tail between his legs.
    A few admitted that it was a cool costume afterwards.

  College Girls --
    Many were really impressed... I got a big hug from a girl dressed as
    a frog... her comment "I just had to hug a skunk!".

Exceptions:
I stopped in a not-so-crowded bar to get something to drink… the guy I was with said I could've probably gone home with some of the waitresses if I wanted to from the way they were looking at my costume. (Actually, I was tempted with that frog-girl).

I actually got one cool and unique reaction from a couple of guys but I forget exactly what they said… arg.

One EXTREMELY drunk girl thought I was in a gorilla costume.

I passed by a couple of dogs… they seemed REALLY confused… one was following me for about a half a block then his owner called him away.

That brings up another question… any else have stories of good reactions from real animals while in furry costume?

I could find No Other Skunks this year… Usually I see one or two girls dressed as skunks. I DID see one guy dressed as a flower on the 31st… I probably would've bugged him if I were in-costume that day :)

I couldn't find any costume contest that weren't in overcrowded bars this year. There WAS a contest at a theatre but it was a 'Rocky Horror Picture Show' costume contest only.

Overall.. I've decided AJ just isn't the right costume for a college crowd (too many drunk guys and overall lamers spoil it).

The guy I was with decided to try to dress up as a kind of “Comic Book Villan”… no-one in particular… He dressed up in a white shirt black vest, bowler (sp??) hat, cane and pointy canine teeth… A few 'Clockwork Orange' guys thought he was another Clockwork Orange guy until they saw his teeth.. then they were like “whoa… a vampire!”.

Personally I think he looked like he could've been another “Cat” from the British Sci show 'Red Dwarf' (i.e. feline evolved into humanoid after 3 million years).

From: Rapid T. Rabbit

Characters I've been:                   Mistaken for:
Rapid T. Rabbit                         Bugs Bunny, Roger Rabbit, Easter Bunny
Bugs Bunny                              Mickey Mouse (!!!)
Sylvester Cat                           Tom (of Tom & Jerry)
Garfield the cat                        Sylvester Cat
Paddington Bear                         Winnie the Pooh bear
Care Bear (Tenderheart Bear)            Gummi Bear
Osmo Bear                               Care Bear
Blinky Bill koala                       Winnie the Pooh bear
Major Brands Mouse                      Chuck E.Cheese
Chuck E.Cheese                          Mickey Mouse
Japser T.Jowls dog                      Goofy
Count Duckula                           Donald Duck, Daffy Duck, Plucky Duck
Daffy Duck                              Donald Duck
Michigan J.Frog                         Kermit the Frog
Babar the Elephant                      The Elephant Man

Babar's misidentification was uttered twice by then New York City mayor Ed Koch (who's now the judge on “The People's Court”) during an onstage event in Central Park back in 1989.


From: TopFox
If you are brown, you will frequently be called a bear, monkey, dog, etc. Even the best of costumes. As Robin Hood at Disneyland, I was often called the Big Bad Wolf. Any one of the Dwarves was often referred to as Santa Claus! The White Rabbit (from Alice In Wonderland) was always called the Easter Bunny, no matter the time of year. The list goes on and on.

My worst case of mistaken identity was, while running around a mall as the blue fox, a parent proudly identified me to their child as Mickey Mouse.

One of the funniest stories is the time a prominent fursuit builder wore his Baloo the bear costume to the Warner Brothers studio where he worked. Baloo the bear, for those not familiar with the Disney feature, is a large grey bear. While riding the elevator at Warners, a secretary looked at him and loudly proclaimed, “Why, it's Wiley Coyote!” The Suiter had had enough of such mistakes and asked the lady why she thought a large grey animal resembled the thin, brown, Wiley. She stopped for a second and then replied “well, this is warners isn't? I just thought you were a warners character.”


From: Erin Blank
yes. Yes I do. Can I have a witness in the house???? Some people are simply doing it sarcastically. Other people just really don't know let alone care.

Last basketball game our second mascot, A'Net, (a basketball with legs kinda like the Syracuse Orangeman) held up signs during a timeout:

“I am not “Ms. Pumpkinhead!”
“I am not (somethingorother)“
“I AM A'NET!!!”

And my character is called Mr. Mascot, Mr. Bear, Mr. Tiger from kids and adults alike. Rageena is on the back of the jersey but they still don't understand it's a female.

So don't feel bad. It's just the way of the world.


From: SkyLioness
Don't sweat it, its probably just people being 'cute' a 'humor defence reaction' when coming across something unusual. Most time its just people not putting effort in thinking, eyes and logic not connecting.

Pluto is called Goofy many-o-times.


From: Brian Hagen
Howdy there!

Yes, the problem is epidemic, and there seems to be no upper limit on just how ridiculous the comparison can be. As Astro Jetson at Great America I was called Scooby, Bugs, Yogi, “a kitty-cat,” Snoopy, and “that dog, you know, that dog?” When Brokken & I are essaying the roles of Wakko and Yakko, respectively, people who see only one of us standing next to Dot will say, “It's Mickey & Minnie!” Then they catch sight of the other Warner brother and say something along the lines of, “And it's… um, Mick– no, wait. Ummmm….”

I'm not really sure what's going on in their heads. For me, mistaking a big grey dog like Astro for a big brown dog like Scooby is rather like mistaking Eddie Murphy for Jim Carrey. There's just no possibility of error. But maybe some people just aren't as attuned to the differences between cartoon characters, and only remember that Scooby is a big dog of some kind. Or maybe they don't know who that character is, but are kind enough to assume that the costume is just a really lousy representation of a character they're familiar with, rather like the parent who assures their child that the chaotic scribble proudly displayed to them is a lovely picture of a cat, only to be told that it's a family portrait. I prefer either explanation to what seems to me to be the worrisome but also the most likely one – lots of people are just plain stupid.


From: Teddy Ruxpin
A couple of years ago I was at BayCon (SF Bay area SF con) in my Teddy Ruxpin Costume. A group costumed as Romulans passed by, one of them points at me as says, “Barney!”.

I always wondered about trekkies…


From: Jamie Wolf/Atpaw
Well, as Jamie Wolf I've had about 40 people shout “It's a Wolf!”, and only one person say “Oooo! A Foxy!” (understandable, because I have a fairly Foxlike look).

Just with my tail, I've been everything from a Wolf, a Possum, Cat, Rat, Kangaroo……

I was standing on a corner with a couple friends with my back to the corner when a car passed by. I heard someone in the car say “Oh my god, he's got a tail!”


From: Panther Free Press
Yep. More than I care to think about. As Mauzer (The con-only tiger costume) I get called “Hobbes” a lot. not complaining, just find it unimaginitive that's all.

Now my paintball costumes, that's a whole other story. I have several, but I've been wearing the black ears & tail getup for a while now. The ears have brown insides (used to have black marbled inners…) and the tail is a universal cat tail.

In this getup (with varying camo patterns…) I've been called a bear, mouse, rat, weasel, panther (the closest…), “Batman”, a bat and a few others I can't recall offhand.

and what of “Comet” the deer? That's a whole other story…

Comet has his own playing jersey. It's white, with my company logo ont he front and his NAME and PLAYING NUMBER on the back. Does this help? No. Comet has been confused for a bunny, a 'reindeer', and for a real horse that lived on the property named “Goldy”. (I didn't think the suit was THAT good!) Then again, it was a that big game I won 3rd place in the costume contest and auctioned the paintgun I won to the Shriners…

Mundanes have no imagination, either that or they don't think. I'm not sure yet.


From: Patrick Barnes
I think Tommy Lee Jones summed it up in Men In Black… “A person is intellligent. People are stupid, panicky dumb animals and you know it.”

My cow Clyde has been called a dalmation several times (thanks Disney!) and once, even a horse I tried to pick a character you wouldn't be readily able to identify with a corporate or fairy tale icon. Clyde is an individual and yet represents the mass of humanity…one more face in the herd, er, crowd.

Oddball public stories

/home/furryfursuit/faq/data/pages/construction/humor.txt · Last modified: 2011/08/11 12:01 (external edit)

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