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The Best Places To Get Fursuit Tails & How To Make Your Own

Xege Kheiru, Writer, Furry

01 Aug 2022

What Are Fursuit Tails?   

If the name wasn’t a dead giveaway, fursuit tails are tails for your fursuit. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors so it can be hard to put your finger on one to call your own. Like most animals, they each have a unique tail to suit them and when it comes to fursuits, these tails can get pretty crazy whether it be a 5 foot tail that drags across the floor with spikes and ridges for your dragon fursuit, or a small fluffy scut for your rabbit fursuit.

Blue Dragon Fursuit Tail

Image by ChasingTailsWorkshop via Etsy

Where Should I Get My Fursuit Tails?

Etsy

When it comes to any part of the fursuit, Etsy is almost always an extremely useful resource even if it is to find inspiration. You can find a whole catalog of extremely talented artists and fursuit makers most of which are even looking to sell their work. As well as this, they are typically super affordable meaning you can get a few you like and decide on one rather than just doing guesswork based on some thumbnails you’ve seen.

Etsy Logo (if you couldn’t tell) 

Image by Etsy

The Tail Company  

If you insist on specificity however, the tail company specializes in fursuit tails and they do a pretty damn good job of it. They are a team of fursuit designers who originated from kickstarter but now even make other awesome stuff like bluetooth sound reactive ears. As for their main business, they offer everything from frisky fox and dog tails to scary spined alien tails, so if variety was an issue of yours, not to worry. However, when it comes to pricing, things get a little bit hairy (no pun intended). Because they are an independent team paying for their own supplies, often you will be paying quite a bit but this is not at the sacrifice of quality as the price definitely shows in their work.

The Tail Company Logo

Image by The Tail Company

FursuitSupplies

The appropriately named fursuitsupplies.com is a nice middle ground between The Tail Company and Etsy in terms of quality and affordability. The average tail from fursuitsupplies.com will run you about $30 which is a pretty good deal considering that their tails aren’t vastly different in quality to The Tail Company for almost $100 cheaper than them as well.

FursuitSupplies.com Logo

Image By FursuitSupplies

How Do I Make A Tail Of My Own?

Maybe you aren’t too keen on parting with that much money though and if that’s the case, we’ve got your back. We get it, a tail is an integral part of a fursuit but $150 is a lot of money and possibly money you don’t have to spare on a fursuit so, here’s how you can make your own.  

 

Supplies You’ll Need

The first thing you need to understand is that the process of making a tail will vary depending on the type of tail you are making so, for the sake of argument, we will go with the most common fursuit tail, a fluffy wolf tail. For this you will need the following:

• Needle and thread 
• Large Piece of Cardboard
• Material for belt loops (elastic or nylon webbing) 
• Felt tip markers 
• Faux fur 
• Scissors  (Any object to cut with will do though) 
• Clips or pins 
• Stuffing 
• A comb 
• A broom or any thin cylindrical surface

 

Ori And The Blind Forest Cover Art Image by XBOX How To Make A Fursuit Tail 

If this is your first time making anything of this nature, you should probably buy an excess of some of the materials like the thread and fur and stuffing as there is a pretty good chance you are going to mess up. Also, read around the subject if you don’t find this guide sufficient enough. 

1. Draw out a profile outline of how you would like your tail to look on the large piece of cardboard and cut it out 

2. Place this piece of cardboard over your faux fur and begin to cut into the fur around the outline. Repeat this but this time with a mirrored version of the first outline you cut out. 

3. Place the two pieces of fur over one another so that they are perfectly aligned and place your clips or pins around them to hold them together. 

4. Begin to sew these pieces together with the non-fur side facing out. DO NOT sew all the way around and leave a hole about the width of a fist or hand. This is so that you can pull the tail right side out, hiding the stitching of the threads and also allowing you to later stuff it. 

5. Next you want to attach a belt loop which is a touch tricker, so we recommend checking out this video to do so.

6. Once you’ve made your belt loop, pull the tail right-side-out and begin stuffing it until it’s as full as you want

7. Once you’ve done that you can now sew the opening shut and Voila! You now have your very own fursuit tail  

Of course this isn’t a definitive guide on how to make a fursuit tail and we highly recommend watching several videos and reading other guides, especially if it’s you first time and even more so if you aren’t making the standard wolf tail.

 

The post The Best Places To Get Your Fursuit Tails & How To Make Your Own appeared first on Fursonafy.

Look, we’ll admit it: There are no anthropomorphic animals (that we know of) in Dolphin Girl Volume 2: Eye of the Baloney Storm. But just listen to the description of this new graphic novel for young readers by Zach Smith: “Ever since the evil Sea Cow tried to steal Dolphin Girl and Captain Dugong’s restaurant/hideout in Trouble in Pizza Paradise!, business has been bad. Dolphin Girl attempts to rebrand the restaurant, but everyone who works there hates the new outfits and the new music. Even worse, there’s a new superhero in town—everyone loves, Wonder Friend and they seemingly can do no wrong. On the other hand, Dolphin Girl is getting everything wrong. But when Sea Cow returns to cover Midwestern Deerburbia in a blizzard of baloney, Dolphin Girl and Otter Boy have no choice but to team up with the all-too-wonderful Wonder Friend to prevent their town from becoming a big Jimmy John’s sandwich!” Top that. Volume 1 and Volume 2 are available now from Pixel & Ink.

image c. 2022 Pixel & Ink

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Moobarkfluff!  Hello listeners!  Taebyn and Bearly have a super time on this episode. Taebyn reads a very touching story, we chat about stupid news, and we tell even more bad jokes. Join us for yet another fun filled episode!  Moobarkfluff!

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You can send us a message on Telegram at BFFT Chat, or via email at: bearlyfurcasting@gmail.com

Bearly Furcasting S3E14 - Storytime, Jokes, That's Just Stupid

Speaking of bunnies… Quite a while ago (in the pre-COVID Before Times even) we told you about a Kickstarter campaign to bring back one of the original role-playing games, Bunnies & Burrows. Well now it finally looks as if that goal is coming to fruition: “Frog God Games has partnered with Dr. B. Dennis Sustare and Dr. Scott R. Robinson to return a venerable and influential piece of tabletop role-playing games to print… Bunnies & Burrows (B&B) is a role-playing game (RPG) that features animal characters contending with enemies and hazards in a world of nature. Published by Fantasy Games Unlimited in 1976, the game centered on intelligent rabbits. It introduced several innovations to role-playing game design, being the very first game to allow players to have non-humanoid roles, and the first to have detailed martial arts and skill systems. FGU published a second edition of the game in 1982, and the game was modified and republished by Steve Jackson Games as an official GURPS supplement in 1992. As rabbits, player characters are faced with dangers mirroring those in the real world. The only true ‘monsters’ in the game are humans, but there are many predators, traps, and natural hazards. The characters’ position in the food chain promotes an emphasis on role-playing and problem solving over combat.” Frog God has lots more information — and supplements too!

image c. 2022 Frog God Games

中文：兽展更新 2022-4-25

As you may recall, for a while now we’ve been following news of the upcoming reboot of Warner Brothers’ popular animated TV series Tiny Toon Adventures (originally created by Tom Ruegger and Steven Spielberg, who of course would later give us Animaniacs and Road Rovers). Now we finally have word that the new show, Tiny Toons Looniversity, will be coming to HBO Max and Cartoon Network sometime later this year. According to Warner Brothers, all of the original Tiny Toons characters will be returning for the new show — with one big change among them. Remember Babs and Buster Bunny, friends who would sometimes date, and who were always saying “No relation”? Well now the two of them are presented as twin siblings. That news certainly has the Internet talking!

image c. 2022 Warner Brothers

TigerTails Radio Season 14 Episode 00. Join the Discord Chat: https://discord.gg/SQ5QuRf For a full preview of events and for previous episodes, please visit http://www.tigertailsradio.co.uk. See website for full breakdown of song credits, which is usually updated shortly after the show. If you like what we do and wish to throw some pennies our way to support us, please consider sending a little tip our way. https://streamlabs.com/tigertailsradio/tip * Please note, tips are made to support TigerTails Radio and are assumed as made with good faith, so are therefore non-refundable. Thank you for your support and understanding.

Life has been extremely rough on multiple fronts for everyone involved on the show for the past month, so we've had neither the health nor energy to get together. We hope to get together to record again before too long.

Proof of Life 2022

Hi everyone! Welcome to the next video showing highlights of the furry community on July 25th 2022! PAWCon https://pacanthro.org/ Furever West https://twitter.com/FureverWest AnthroExpo https://www.anthroexpo.net/ Further Confusion https://twitter.com/furcon Anthro Weekend Utah Charity Sign https://twitter.com/ChronoWolfMusic/status/1548741699026837504 Main Website https://anthroweekendutah.org/ AnthroCon Numbers https://twitter.com/anthrocon/status/1543728663212032002 Fur-eh! Numbers https://twitter.com/fureh/status/1549262553120968704?t=7xhCUXLYZtmpSDPA7PWzEw&s=19 Fur-eh! Documentry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apfgcD_G2d8 DNF Duel https://store.steampowered.com/app/1216060/DNF_Duel/ Protogen Trailer https://twitter.com/GBoopster/status/1551079320805728256 Protogen Launcher Mod https://gamebanana.com/mods/391330 If you like the work I do please like/follow/share to support the channel I'm on multiple platforms https://twitter.com/GrovelHusky https://t.me/grovelreports Subscribe to show support https://www.youtube.com/c/GrovelHusky/?sub_confirmation=1 Grovel Reports Studio made by Kydek https://twitter.com/FluffyKydek Banners used in the channel were made by Slushi https://twitter.com/Slushi3Brushi3?s=09 Music created for Grovel Husky by Whooshagg https://whooshagg.com/ A Protogen In A Video Game?! A $2000 Furry Bathroom Sign + New Dates! - Grovel Reports 7/25/22 #AWU #Protogen #furryfandom

There is the first volume in the Tiny Fox and Great Boar series of graphic novels for young readers. They’re written and illustrated (in lush watercolors) by Polish artist Berenika Kolomycka. “One beautiful fall day, as Tiny Fox relaxes under his favorite tree, he meets a new friend: Great Boar! Great Boar loves to explore the beauty of nature and the changing seasons, but Tiny Fox thinks adventuring can be scary… but so is the idea of being without his new pal! What will Tiny Fox do?” You can find out now in hardcover from Oni Press.

image c. 2022 Oni Press

The Story Behind Osaka Furry Fun Festa Feat. KC, Geppei, and Jun [FABP E23]. ---- Welcome to another episode of the Fox and Burger Podcast! In this episode, we sit down with KC, Geppei, and Jun to talk about Osaka Furry Fun Festa (OFFF) and its history. KC and Geppei are two furries who own a fursuit making studio called Kigurumi Katgetsu. KC is a dog while Geppei is a wolf. Additionally, Geppei is the con chair for OFFF while KC is one of the several managers who help run the con. Jun, a straw hat wolf, works for OFFF as a volunteer and has some experience with fursuit making. We know that a lot of people talk about JMoF, but we also wanted to show the world that there are other cons and events in Japan too. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy this trip to Osaka! ---- Timestamps: 00:00 Section 1: Introduction 00:00 Podcast intro 01:15 Guest introduction 00:00 Section 2: OFFF 07:48 The origin of OFFF 11:07 What can you do at OFFF? 12:15 Comparing OFFF and Western cons 14:52 Comparing OFFF and JMoF 16:29 Favorite moment at OFFF 20:28 Future of OFFF 21:15 Section 3: Japanese furry fandom 21:15 What are Japanese furs like? 34:43 What are doujinshis? 37:41 What is kemono style? 38:50 How much has the Japanese furry fandom been influenced by the West? 43:30 What are some places to visit in Osaka? 48:13 Social media shout out and outro ---- Social Media: Official FABP Twitter: https://twitter.com/foxandburger Michael: https://twitter.com/foxnakh https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK9xoFQrxFTNPMjmXfUg2cg Burger: https://twitter.com/L1ghtningRunner http://www.youtube.com/c/LightningRunner Jun: https://twitter.com/jun_wanderer KC: https://twitter.com/menesisu Geppei: https://twitter.com/geppei5959 https://twitter.com/kigurumikagetsu Osaka Furry Fun Festa: https://twitter.com/OFFF_Info ---- Footage Credit: https://twitter.com/jun_wanderer/status/20617905779 https://www.today.com/popculture/powerpuff-girls-save-townsville-again-after-decade-away-1D79811011 https://screenrant.com/avatar-last-airbender-popular-today-reasons-explained/ https://www.dailytravelphotos.com/archive/2011/09/06/ https://www.visionsoftravel.org/todaiji-temple-nara-park-japan/ https://www.visionsoftravel.org/deer-ancient-nara-park-japan/ https://en.blog.kkday.com/940/asia-japan-kyoto-pokemon-center https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usVn85l4sQM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuATr6tnk6g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU5YCcGXx2c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSsFhtBsXcg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fHYbZsSfR4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyJJg56d4cc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piI3o4X1iLc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9c5Qgs8cX8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnLq85_y9LU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv0QaTW3kEY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fy1lcDhlPA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afBI2icz7v0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sidNKV4JXAA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJYes-uRvkM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqBvYs8eO6c Other pictures and video provided by Jun, KC, Geppei, Pixabay, and hosts' personal footage. Intro/Outro Music: Aioli by Andrew Langdon. ---- The Fox and Burger Podcast is one segment of our production house, Fox and Burger Productions. The podcast’s goal is twofold: 1, to know more about the Asian furry fandom; and 2, compare and contrast the Asian and Western furry fandoms. If you have a guest that you would like to see on the show, please PM us! We will also take questions for our guests, so don’t miss this opportunity to know some amazing furs.

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Moobarkfluff!  Taebyn is back and oh what a volcano of stuff does he have for us!  He just can't help himself!  We take a visit to Lux's Transfurmation Laboratory, talk about the golden age of television, plus oh so much more nonsense. So join us for a rip roaring good time here on BFFT!  Moobarkfluff! 

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Bearly Furcasting S3E13 - Taebyn is back! Transfurmation Station, Jokes and Mayhem

And then there’s Orange Blossom Monkey Clan, a new full-color comic written and illustrated by Erik Klaus (Ninjas & Robots). “These Samurai Monkeys were trained to guard the southern islands of Mount Kumo, but after generations of peace, many have abandoned the Way of the Warrior. Now that danger looms on the horizon, a small crew of counter-culture monkeys are ready to prove that they have kept their battle skills sharp!” Available now from Keenspot.

image c. 2022 Keenspot

Dinomighty! is a new graphic novel series for young readers, from Clarion Books. “On their own, they are four mild-mannered dinos, but together they are . . . Dinomighty! Everything is pleasant and good in Dinotown . . . until Teri-Dactyl discovers a cryptic email that says the precious Golden Egglettes are in danger! Dinomighties unite! But can they spring into action fast enough to save these valuable jewels from evil baddies?” Written by Doug Paleo (!) and illustrated by Aaron Blecha (Shark School), volumes are available now.

image c. 2022 Clarion Books

​Hello,

I've been talking to this guy, and he's really sweet. I'll call him Jay. We've been chatting online every day, and we plan to meet each other at MFF later this year. He seems like he genuinely cares about me, and I care about him.

I'm a freelance furry artist, and I have a day job working retail. My life isn't glamorous, but I make enough to support myself and do some fun things here and there. He's a civil engineer and can afford to travel across the country to furry cons multiple times a year. This wealth discrepancy between us has unearthed some old feelings within myself I thought I was starting to overcome.

I've struggled with depression and anxiety for most of my life, and for a while I felt like a worthless loser, regardless of how good I'm actually doing in life. Authority figures in my life told me I would never make it as an artist. Consciously, I know they're wrong, but I still can't help but remind myself of their words from time to time. It's not that I envy Jay, either. I know I would be miserable working in a field like that. I guess my problem is that I feel out of his league in that regard. I don't feel good enough for him, even though he's never talked down to me. I worry that if we did get into a serious relationship, I wouldn't be able to pull my weight financially, and I would feel like I'm just taking advantage of him. I value my independence, and I don't want to feel like a parasite.

It's no secret people in STEM tend to look down on people who work in creative fields. Not all of them do, obviously, but if you spend time in those circles, you'll come across it from time to time. Jay has never said anything like that to me, but I live in fear he might secretly feel that way.

Again, I consciously know I'm overthinking a good situation. But these old feelings of inadequacy are coming back to haunt me.

Is it better to just not? Should I nip this relationship in the bud, or should I just go ahead anyway despite my insecurities?

Thank you for your time.
-Stee

* * *

Dear Stee,

Thank you for your poignant letter that, I am certain, speaks to many of my readers. 

I will start by saying what you likely already know: A person should not be judged by the contents of their wallet or purse but by the content of their heart.

We live in a world--especially in America--that values money and beauty over heart and character. That is sad. And, I know, it is easy for me to speak in cliches, but I want you to know I do empathize with how you are feeling. I have been on both sides of this coin: Sometimes, I have been the one earning more than my partner, and other times I have earned less. For the most part, I have been the one doing the supporting, and I have taken great pride in that. The times when I earned less, well, you can give in to this sense that it is emasculating. 

Right now in my life, I am earning less than my husband, Michael. This is largely because I am going through a transitional phase in which I am getting away from my freelance editorial work and starting my own business, which, currently, is not taking in any money. So, I have had to lean on Michael to handle a lot of the bills. A big reason this bothers me, I'll admit, is the stigma I often see in the gay community about a young(er) male who seeks out a sugar daddy to support them. Such people are often considered users who only glom onto their daddy bear in order to get their money. This is rather like the gold digger stigma some young women endure. 

Of course, Michael totally understands why my income is currently low and is completely supportive of my starting a new business venture. That's because he's a great guy. That's why I married the big lug.

Here's my question to you: Do you consider yourself a good judge of character? In other words, do you think Jay is a good guy who likes you for you and not for how much money you earn or that you don't work a STEM job? If so, then give the man the benefit of a doubt that he is not going to be an elitist snot and dump you because you're an artist who works in retail. Those feelings of inadequacy are not coming from Jay; they're coming from society and your own insecurities.

Don't screw up what could be the love of your life because you don't think you're good enough. That is self-defeating. 

Glomp onto Jay and allow yourself to love him. And, importantly, talk to him about your life and relationship, but don't say things like, "I think you might dump me because I don't earn much" (that would be insulting to him). Say things like, "I think we complement each other well--you're the engineer and I'm the artist--and I think we're good together and I care about you. How are you feeling about our us?" In other words, acknowledge your differences, but never ever do so in a way that might make him feel you are insecure or jealous of him. If Jay is a man of character, what he will want is a partner to share his life with, not someone who has a hefty bank account balance.

Make sense?

I hope things go well when you finally meet in person.

Papabear

TigerTails Radio Season 14 Episode 00. Join the Discord Chat: https://discord.gg/SQ5QuRf The first (and hopefully only) test show for Season 14 before the season can begin properly next week. For a full preview of events and for previous episodes, please visit http://www.tigertailsradio.co.uk. See website for full breakdown of song credits, which is usually updated shortly after the show. If you like what we do and wish to throw some pennies our way to support us, please consider sending a little tip our way. https://streamlabs.com/tigertailsradio/tip * Please note, tips are made to support TigerTails Radio and are assumed as made with good faith, so are therefore non-refundable. Thank you for your support and understanding.

For a while we had been hearing about the film The Sea Beast, but we didn’t know much about it other than it has a little girl and a big monster. Turns out that this animated feature is the latest work of writer and director Chris Williams, who previously gave us Moana and Big Hero 6 for Disney. Now with the help of Sony Imageworks he has brought this new film to Netflix, and the results are quite an eyeful! In a world much like our own but different, sailing ships and sailing crews travel the seas to hunt and destroy giant ship-crunching monsters… that is, until one day when an eager young girl stows away on the greatest monster-hunter ship, and things begin to rapidly change. The film is quite notable for the ethnic and sexual diversity of its animated cast. But of course, what furry fans are here to see are the kaiju-like sea monsters, and they do not disappoint. In fact, the young girl (and soon others) quickly learn that the giant monsters humans have been fighting may be far more than they appear to be… Check this one out. It’s currently streaming.

image c. 2022 Netflix

In a recent letter to the “Ask Papabear” column, a reader named Jack asked for my input on his attraction to monsters. Being a furry myself and having a column intended for furries and the furry curious, I naturally thought he was talking about furry critters, so my response was geared toward that interest.

Not long after posting, however, a reader named Tristan contacted me and set me straight. Jack wasn’t a furry; he was a “Monster Lover.” Now, I didn’t know this before, but there is a difference between the two. A Monster Lover can be furry, but not all of them are. Thus, I was introduced to a new community of which I was heretofore unaware.

Tristan reacted to the fact that I used a psychological term—teratophile—to describe what Jack was experiencing. The thing about this term is that it refers to people who can either be attracted to a monster (e.g., a dragon or werewolf) or to humans with severe physical deformities (you’ll see more on this below).

I contacted Tristan and asked hime to educate me about Monster Lovers. Here is my (edited and cleaned up) interview with him.

Papabear:  Hi, Tristan! Here’s my first question: in your comments you seem to indicate there is a community of monster lovers? Like, are there chat groups or something of people who share this interest?

Tristan:  There is! I'm in a few groups here, and there are a good number more of them that aren't as much my interest. But the community is diverse. Like in the furry world, I'm not hugely socially active, so I’m not in the Discords that I know of. But I’ll add to forum discussion now and then. These groups are very age-aware and restricted because sometimes its not SFW content.

Papabear: Fascinating. So, this is like a fandom separate from furries?
 
Tristan: Very much so. That's actually a group rule in most places. No Furry Content. Furries being anthro creatures. Some straddle the line, like werecreatures. But overall, they aren’t seen as furry because of presentation.
 
Papabear: Do the people in these groups call themselves something? Like anthro lovers call themselves furries, so do monster lovers have a name?
 
Tristan: Not that I know of as a general thing. Overall, we joke about just being degenerates because people view monster lovers as weirdos. The communities share a lot of overlaps in things like that. I just say I love monsters. Some say "monster fucker" for the shock value. But that's more Harkness Test, too. [Note to readers: the Harkness Test refers to Dr. Jack Harkness, a fictional character from Doctor Who, who set up standards for having sexual relations with alien monsters; basically, they had to have human or above intelligence and the sex had to be consensual—no bestiality].  Exophile works well. As it was mentioned overall the community is very aware of appropriation of cultures (i.e. we do not talk about Sk*nwalkers or Wend*go to respect Native Nations.) Teratophilia leaves a lot of sour notes because we don't do human deformities/disabilities. Collectively, they're trying to divorce from the term as a community.
 
Papabear:  Ok, don’t laugh at this question, but I’m guessing you don't have conventions.
 
Tristan:  No questions are laughable! Learning is good! If there are conventions, I don’t know them. But it’d be hard to organize one, I think. The content is so very broad. It folds into a lot of places. Also, it could be easy to abuse in some respects. My circles are very firm in cutting out any Zoophiles/Pedophile behaviors/non-con and non-Harkness.
 
Papabear: I actually thought it was odd the APA [American Psychological Association] defines teratophilia as attraction to BOTH deformed humans and monsters as these are very different things.
 
Tristan: Language-wise, it made sense for the time period. People with disabilities and deformities were seen as being monsters, not people. Made freak shows thrive.
 
Papabear: I agree psychologists should have a different term to attraction to deformities. So, next question: how do you define "monster"? I mean, some people might consider furries monsters, ya know? So, what is a "MONSTER"? Frankenstein? Godziilla? Cthulthu? Gremlins? Trolls? Donald Trump?
 
Tristan: Oof. Trump is a whole other monster there. But he's human. All large monsters are creatures of generally nonhuman form. Though it's rife with grey areas. Vampires and trolls/orcs, for instance, are under the monster category, while elves/dwarves, gnomes, and such are classed as fae or "monster lite." They attract people, but you never call them monsters, overall. Ghosts and aliens also strike a grey area. People simp real hard for Kaiju like Godzilla. Cryptids are considered monsters. Various SCPs [refers to a survivor horror game that has lots of monsters in it] are accepted. Werecritters.
 
It boils down to personal view/share. There’s a group dedicated to gods of various regions and from shows. There's a group for robots. A group specifically for dragons (which I left because of the admin supports noncon and Harkness failing.) They're branded under the same umbrella.
 
What separates Furries from Monster Lovers is their presentation. I don’t have a monster fursona; wouldn't want one. I adore them, but don't want to be a monster. I do have and enjoy having fursonas though! I see it as being a cute, fat opposum doing my normal life things. Monsters rarely fit into society and break the norms. Furries can be monster folks. I've seen such cool designs! The ones with skull faces and such. But monsters don't work in reverse as easily.
 
CLOWNS. I hate clowns, but because it’s a common phobia, a lot of monsterfolk love them.
 
Papabear: Oh, I HATE CLOWNS, TOO, LOL!  So, people in these groups are attracted to monsters but don't want to BE monsters and don't create monstersonas.
 
Tristan: Correct. I always gotta scroll quick when the one artist shares her clowns. Great artist but oof, no thanks.
 
Papabear: Okay. Now, you said something else interesting in your comment to my column. In the column, I stated that the sexual fantasies have the monster as dom, but you said it can go both ways?
 
Tristan: Very much! In a lot of the discussions we have, people just desire cute, everyday, balanced relationships with scary, could-kill-you monsters. Not taming them, but just existence in a safe way. I’d be happy if I had a dragon partner. Not that we'd be able to be involved physically because of size differences, which isn't my feelings anyway. But daydreaming about the domestic things is just so very nice. Not to say it doesn't have "damn, wish that monster would pin me to the wall" feelings. Because it sure does! But it's not the predominant behavior. It's split really evenly with wanting to be stronger and dom over monsters. Those discussions always get weird because of puzzling out logistics of how to dom a monster. But they're very lively talks. Sometimes a bit too descriptive for my taste. I’d say, in terms of BDSM related to monster lovers, its 40% Wholesome, ~35% dom by monster, ~25% dom the monster. But that's the communities I'm frequent to, so it’s subject to scrutiny.
 
Papabear: Ah! So, it isn't JUST a sexual thing but can also be romantic?!
 
Tristan: Yes! That’s what I mean. A lot of monster lover folks are on the Aro/Ace spectrum and don't actually want the sexual aspects. (But, gods, do we joke like we do.)
 
Papabear: Ok, so, the attraction is for a partner who is wild, untamed....?
 
Tristan: Hmm. Not necessarily. Just, dangerous, is often attractive. Wild things can be attractive. But so is haughty society. As I said, for the community, the Harkness test is important. It should be for Furries, too. Though I didn't know the name for it originally. We do fight and remove people who think the Harkness test is guidelines and not actually rules.
 
Papabear: I'm sorry, I sort of know what the Harkness test is, but what do you mean it is a rule? Do you mean you can't be in the group without being sexually attracted to monsters?
 
Tristan: Yes! Harkness rules are: Is this creature of human or higher intelligence? Is this creature mature for its species (not by human ages, but by their lives)? Can it communicate AND understand consent with you? If any of the answers is “No,” then you do not desire that monster. These are hard lines you do not cross because it makes you a pedo, zoophile, or rapey. Pokémon are a good example of disagreement. We don't share Pokémon that AREN'T anthros/gejikas because they are considered animals. Even though they're shown to be intelligent and are able to communicate with us. You cannot give a proper age for them as Pokémon because of their animal status. You only know what a baby is because it hatched. For sake of clarity, the groups require humanized Pokémon, but there are many that may disagree.
 
Papabear: My understanding of Pokémon is that they are smarter than many animals but not human-level smart, although that Pikachu movie made him seem human smart. I'm not much of a Pokémon fan myself.
 
Tristan: And that's why there's a hard line! People can't truly agree about the intelligence or ages of Pokémon. So it’s one case where anthro is important.
 
Papabear: Fascinating. This has been extremely educational, thank you. Oh, and one more question: could you describe the composition of Monster Lovers in terms of fans? What is the mix of males and females, different ages, education, etc.? As you know, the furry fandom skews to young white males, although it is diversifying.
 
Tristan: Lot of male/masc presence, but a lot of vocal female/femme and nonbinary sharing. Nonbinary masc presenting is also VERY common. Age range is tricky, since the Facebook groups do not allow under 18, but a good deal of us seem to be mid-20s and up. From what I see, looks like we have folks in their 40s who are vocal, too. I'm 33 myself. Nonbinary. We have a lot of parents and married/partnered folks in my groups as well. Overall, very Rainbow Party, though. Most people are some flavor of LGBT and nonconforming. Its great when I see folks talk about supportive partners. It makes me happy to relate.
​
Education. As I hazard by the groups I'm in, standard is high school grad or equivalent. A lot of the personal art shared (I’d say upward of 75% of group photo/art content) is from college students. A lot of us are working adults in various job details. It really reaches. Have blue-collar and white-collar folks. Got kitchen dogs like me. I'm a college drop out due to an abusive relationship at the time. (Thriving and safe now with a supportive spouse.)
 
Papabear: Can you list a couple of monster lover groups that you would recommend so if people reading this interview would like to look them up and maybe join in?
 
Tristan:

• There Is No Mere Mortal: https://www.facebook.com/groups/nomeremortal/?ref=share this is a neat group of cosplay folks that many of are considered monster level. I aspire to their level of design.
• Jokes on You, I Protec Monsters: https://www.facebook.com/groups/392201675020466/?ref=share is about loving monsters wholesome and wanting to cherish and protect them. Its one of my favorites.
• Jokes on You, I Only F*ck Monsters after We’re in a Committed Relationship: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2972623246163705/?ref=share is another of the Jokes on You line. If it starts with "jokes on you, I" then its probably part of the family. Izzy Bizarre is a cool monster content creator, non spicy.
• Izzy Bizarre: https://www.facebook.com/IzzyBizarre/
• Thorns and Flames https://www.facebook.com/thornsandflames is also an amazing content creator! Sometimes spicy. 

Papabear: Thanks, Tristan!

Barq is a social media website for furries. Then in an incident, furries got angry when a Barq admin banned the term ‘ACAB’. ‘ACAB’ means All Cops Are Bastards. This made some furries feel like Barq chose sides in US politics. Warning chit sparks outrage A furry on Twitter showed a picture of a warning […]

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Bearly Furcasting S3E12 - Where's Taebyn? Rayne Raccoon and TickTock co-hosts