Rikiya Kozuka | 11/72021
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Animals.
They are everywhere. And I’m not talking about street rodents and the ****roaches that live between concrete cracks. I’m talking about the animals that live among us, walking freely and living human lives.
For the past few weeks, I’ve gone around and interviewed the ‘Animal People’ population of Karakura to truly understand this odd phenomenon. Whether it be furries, therians, wolf kids or people who really do believe they are animals. Are they weirdos and outcasts who only love doing unmentionable acts with their fellow anthropomorphic animals like how the media portrays them? Or are they misunderstood people who just want to have fun?
---
There are many different sub-genres (?) of this . . . thing. Furries, therians, otherkin, etc. Some people even debate that catgirls could be categorized as these types of people. However, they all do different things and identify themselves differently. One thing they all have in common is they are in some way an animal or related to one - whether it’s an alter ego, an original character, or a spirit animal.
Furries.
One of my sources, a person who will be referred to as ‘DRUGS’ was a former furry. He claimed that he did nothing much other than draw fanart and wear fursuits. He later said, “ALSO THE PEOPLE I KNEW THAT WERE IN THE FURRY FANDOM WERE INCREDIBLY NICE AND TALENTED ARTISTS.” (No stops, no commas, all caps.).
According to my really in-depth research that sort of led me to insanity, after accidentally stumbling upon the dark side of the furry fandom . . They’re quite harmless. All they do is dress up and vibe. They make little characters with different animal breeds, sometimes mutants of two. Some people draw their characters, give them names, and interact with others. I know there are little furry celebrities they idolize.
Essentially, they’re just like any fandom, some might argue that there are worse, more toxic fandoms. (Haha. Haha. Hahahaha.). Sure, to the public eye what they do might seem strange, but they’re straight up just vibing! Obviously, there is some weird stuff- but every community, especially the ones that mainly stay online, has that.
There are other categories that we will get into shortly
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Now onto the interviews . . .
I directly spoke to some of these people that actually lived in Karakura! Woah, yeah! Take a listen. However, these are cut short due to time.
[ a recording began to play ]
RIKIYA
“Would you like to state your name, age, and occupation?”
“Would you like to state your name, age, and occupation?”
ODDITY
“Just call me Oddity. I don’t want the Karakura police department finding me. I’m eighteen, aaand I’m still a student.”
“Just call me Oddity. I don’t want the Karakura police department finding me. I’m eighteen, aaand I’m still a student.”
RIKIYA
“What do you identify yourself as?”
“What do you identify yourself as?”
ODDITY
“I prefer Therian. It's more like having a spirit animal in a human body. It’s close to furries.”
“I prefer Therian. It's more like having a spirit animal in a human body. It’s close to furries.”
RIKIYA
“What is your spirit animal?”
“What is your spirit animal?”
ODDITY
“Both fox and crow. It’s rather complicated to explain.”
“Both fox and crow. It’s rather complicated to explain.”
RIKIYA“Could you explain the difference between furries and Therians?”
ODDITY
“Furries are more … completely animal in a way, but not exactly. Some do it as a hobby. Therians feel more like they are in the wrong body at times.”
“Furries are more … completely animal in a way, but not exactly. Some do it as a hobby. Therians feel more like they are in the wrong body at times.”
RIKIYA
“So furries are more of a hobby thing, but with Therians you just sort of- feel it?”
“So furries are more of a hobby thing, but with Therians you just sort of- feel it?”
ODDITY
“Yup.”
“Yup.”
[ a beep, then pause. Before the interviewer started speaking to a new interviewee. ]
RIKIYA
“Please state your name and age.”
NANA
“My name is Nana Ashida, and my age is eighteen.”
“My name is Nana Ashida, and my age is eighteen.”
RIKIYA
“So . . do you identify as something other than human?”
“So . . do you identify as something other than human?”
NANA
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
RIKIYA
“Fascinating. What do you identify as?
NANA
“Fox.”
“Fox.”
???
“Bahaha-”
“Bahaha-”
[ a smacking sound could be heard right before a perfectly cut scream coming from the mysterious third party person. ]
RIKIYA
“So you’re a fox? Why do you think you’re a fox?”
“So you’re a fox? Why do you think you’re a fox?”
NANA
“ . . . “
“ . . . “
RIKIYA
“ . . . “
“ . . . “
NANA
“Because my parents were foxes.”
RIKIYA
“Erm- Okay . . Moving on. Have you ever been diagnosed with any . . mental disorders? Perhaps, Bipolar disorder or Schizophrenia?”
“Erm- Okay . . Moving on. Have you ever been diagnosed with any . . mental disorders? Perhaps, Bipolar disorder or Schizophrenia?”
NANA
"No."
"No."
RIKIYA
“Interesting. What was your childhood like?”
“Interesting. What was your childhood like?”
[ before nana could respond. you could hear yet another person approaching, the recording device picked up something he whispered. ]
???
“doing ya mom . . uhuh, doing ya mom . .”
“doing ya mom . . uhuh, doing ya mom . .”
NANA
“It was not the best. My dad said my mom died and he treated me not so well.”
“It was not the best. My dad said my mom died and he treated me not so well.”
RIKIYA
“Interesting . . . Kay- That’s it. scram-”
[ the voice recording device picked up the sound of one . . no, two people running- a few gunshots from afar.. ]
???
“YOU . . WHAT THE HELL??”
“YOU . . WHAT THE HELL??”
RIKIYA
“WHAT THE FU-”
“WHAT THE FU-”
[ The interviewer's yelling was cut off . . onto the next interview. ]
RIKIYA
“This is an exclusive interview with the one and only, Miss Annie Zenkichi.”
“This is an exclusive interview with the one and only, Miss Annie Zenkichi.”
ANNIE
“Hi, Karakura!”
“Hi, Karakura!”
RIKIYA
“I’m going to just get straight to the point . . Is it true that you are a furry?”
“I’m going to just get straight to the point . . Is it true that you are a furry?”
ANNIE
“Furry? . . I’m not, honestly. I have no idea what that means, ‘furry’. As I believe, it’s something about cats . . I don't understand why my love towards cats would make me a furry.”
“Furry? . . I’m not, honestly. I have no idea what that means, ‘furry’. As I believe, it’s something about cats . . I don't understand why my love towards cats would make me a furry.”
RIKIYA
“Do you sometimes feel like you ARE a cat?”
“Do you sometimes feel like you ARE a cat?”
ANNIE
“No! I’m fully human from when I was married, 10 years ago. Me and my ex-husband adopted a lot of animals . . and of course, a few cats.”
RIKIYA
“Hmm . . Was your husband a furry?”
“Hmm . . Was your husband a furry?”
ANNIE
“No. He’s human too.”
“No. He’s human too.”
RIKIYA
“Hmm, do you feel any enjoyment in dressing up as an animal? Like wearing cat ears or whatever.”
ANNIE
“The cat ears are a different thing! I tried to be young and cool. I learned a few words from my daughter, one of them was ‘nya’.”
“The cat ears are a different thing! I tried to be young and cool. I learned a few words from my daughter, one of them was ‘nya’.”
[ The recording ended. ]
As you can see . . there are many different categories regarding furries. Some of them are just doing it as a hobby, some feel it spiritually, some are just mentally ill.
Another thing I noticed is the denial in furries. Perhaps it's because of how much hate they get, you can see this in Annie Zenkichi’s interview and how much she’s denying her furryism. They are just normal people who have different interests! Why do we hate them??
Rawr xD! Rawr xD, I say! I stand with the furries. I see you, I support you! Join me, Karakura, as I stand for the furries! Rawr xD!
[ Suddenly a video would start. ]
“Hello everyone, we have a lot of fun here in the journalist club. As you can see, reports are well on their way, so expect to see more!”
[ As he spoke, Rikiya was seen being hauled off into an ambulance, rambling about uwus and owos. ]
MOOKIE
“As for Mr. Kozuka, there's nothing to worry about. Here at the journalist club, our members come first; which is why we've booked him a stay at our local hospital's Psych unit. He should be fully recovered from this traumatic event in at least 3-4 months. Once again, we wish to thank you for tuning in and we will see you next time!"
“As for Mr. Kozuka, there's nothing to worry about. Here at the journalist club, our members come first; which is why we've booked him a stay at our local hospital's Psych unit. He should be fully recovered from this traumatic event in at least 3-4 months. Once again, we wish to thank you for tuning in and we will see you next time!"
[ He’d wave as the feed would cut out. ]
