Hello folks!
This blogpost will be both long and personal, as it covers an entire week of my life.
I’m not one hundred% sure yet, but it might’ve been the most important week of my life.
Preface
For the last week, I’ve been in Pittsburgh for Anthrocon.
I’ve never been to a furry convention before, and truthfully I didn’t know if I’d like it. I’ve only been in the fandom for a couple years, after all…
Yet I have always envied my friends who would visit a convention, disappear for days, then come back raving about how incredible it was.
…hhhrrrrrrmmmmmmm…
Well, two things were true:
1. I was experiencing severe FOMO.
2. But what the fuck are they talking about
I held many doubts!
The premise of a furry convention felt cringe in a cosmic way.
And yet, I knew I needed to see for myself.
I booked flights, took a week off work, and went to Pittsburgh.
July twond - Travel Day
In order to maximize my Furry Exposure, I chose to arrive at the convention a day early.
Nobody on my initial flight seemed like they were a furry, but preparation for my connecting flight was different:
- Someone was dressed in an ⭐ absolutely decked Pokemon fit,
- Two guys were sitting against a wall (And yes you could just tell they were going to AC)
- And, of course, folks were whispering about it!!
But we were an hour away from Alligator Alcatraz so we all kept quiet.
Here’s the timeline of how my travel looked:
(I was awake for so long)
My flight delays made me feel miserable. I was worried I’d miss out on dinner plans, and I had to be in a plane for an additional five hours.
But after landing in Pittsburgh, I felt something incredible.
(Hello, Pittsburgh International Airport)
MOONDOG: why do i feel like i am home?
MOONDOG: i have never felt at home somewhere, i have never been here before, i have never felt like this and i started feeling it the moment i stood up from the plane
MOONDOG: interesting
In spite of my extreme delays, I was able to make it to dinner plans with clave and xyzzy!
(The Free Bird open burger special from Brick ‘N Mortar)
Dinner was profoundly grounding. I’ve met friends online before, but Shit Was Getting Serious, folks…
After dinner, we re-entered Pittsburgh past sunset through the Fort Pitt tunnel. I have a video of my reaction (screaming for a solid minute) — the town view was gorgeous!!
Good god, what have I gotten myself into. I haven’t even seen a fursuit yet
Arts and Crafts with Moondog!
Due to poor hotel planning on my part, I spent the night as an extra in xyzzy’s hotel. There, I was able to prepare a critical part of my outfit — the bowtie.
(A picture of Moondog in a bowtie.)
The bowtie was easy to make!
First, I bought a fourth of July headband from Walmart. Then, I removed the band and star accessories. I then tore into the ribbon a bit and hacked in a hair clip.
In total, it cost $five. Good for a unique, bigass bowtie!
…
Oh yes, the flannel!
The flannel was an old gift from a partner that inferred Moondog’s entire design, way back in 2020.
You take two flannels, cut them down the back, and then re-sow the pairs together. Then, you and your partner can have matching, opposing, and unique flannels.
It is the best gift I have ever received.
July threerd - AC one/four
My phone plan expired today.
I would recommend making sure you have the ability to call family and friends before a big convention…
Thanks to travel exhaustion, I had good sleep for today!
Me, xyzzy, and beef left the hotel early to visit another group’s airBNB. Of course they were all hungover so we left.
We went to a local bakery and I got a sandwich that was ninety% bread. But it was pretty good bread so yakno whatever
(Good morning, Pittsburgh!)
I started to witness furries for the first time in my life, like a tanuki with an eight-foot tail entering an elevator… Remarkable…
And it didn’t feel weird, either.
(MOONDOG: this angle makes it look like im gonna take a piss on it)
Enough time passed, and we decided to get in the registration line at noon.
(The line wraps back and forth several times!!)
During registration, I hung out with sundae, clave, and xyzzy. The weather was fine (especially under the tunnel), and it only took us two hours to get our badges.
…Two is a lot of hours, but compared to previous years, this was exceedingly quick!
Afterwards, I hung out with a various volley of friends, chatting and looking forward to event activities.
Instead of following them for lunch, I decided to head back and explore the convention center by myself.
Believe it or not, there were FURRIES. Holy shit.
But my main motive for heading back was to meet someone I’ve known since 2020: Thrombolomew the Profoundly Unlimited, Viscerally Trained, And Now A Word From Our Sponsors: Do You Need Help? Do You Seek Assistance? Do You Love Me? If So, Please Let Go. And Now, Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Program: Gatordog. I was very, very excited to meet him after all this time…
Together, we visited the first lecture:
Panel One: Data Structures and Algorithms
(This furry shit is so easy)
I kept getting hypnotized by the study material, forgetting that I was at a furry convention. Then the hosts would integrate an unexpected furry pun into the topic and break the group hypnosis set upon the room of CS majors.
This “push and pull” was, frankly, so much fun.
-=- UNSOLICITED CRITIQUE -=-
Yet… I got the impression that the hosts were unaware of the lecture’s hypnosis? The slides’s humor was very pun-centric, to the extent of being entirely dependent on them. Like, it felt as though the panel was funny, but for reasons that were not being fully explored.
I would’ve liked to see more manipulated “push and pull” with the lecture hypnosis phenomenon. There’s a lot of potential here past puns!!
Overall, a solid panel, but you have to be the right kind of nerd to enjoy it. Thankfully, most furries are.
(It felt like I had been blind my entire life and I had learned how to see. I felt though I spent my life chasing shadows across the walls of the cave, only to finally step out with a torch and witness the sunlight. I felt like I had been starving my entire life, only to finally be offered a mere sip of water. Words alone cannot describe this event. No emotion could be sufficient. Trillions of grains of sand in our universe, each one counted, named, cherished, loved, all in unison.)
Panel Two: Getting Into The Video Game Industry
this panel was a god damn fever dream.
I think my raw journal will do it justice:
OKAY.
so the panel is called “getting into the video game industry”
and it’s 3 panelists talking about the vg industry and answering questions based on their experience
the room isnt large but it IS packed so i’m glad i took a front seat row
i forget the precise questions that get asked, but the panel starts with an insane reveal:
“mr. miyazaki, vice president of CyberConnect2, is coming as a panelist soon”
(looks him up) (it’s a successful japanese game studio with a bunch of IP games) Jesus christ ok IT’S ANTHROCON WITH 100 PEOPLE IN THE ROOM WHATEVER
i think of questions id want to ask him. in my mind i think generative ai, but that seemed like a booby trap, cuz he would have to say absolutely not or the room would hate him
he doesnt show up for a bit so we get into fresh questions
one of the “questions” is a member in the audience coming up to introduce himself as a professional 3d artist for warhammer to elaborate on something
the next question is about “why do people use maya and not blender,” and the same guy goes “I can answer this.”
the panelists immediately collectively decide to bring him forward as a surprise 4th panelist
AND HE DEMOLISHES THE QUESTION HARDCORE, going into incredible depth on why professionals could never port to blender
so the energy of the room is already so fucking high because the panelists are answering wonderful questions so sharply, not to mention that they just impulsively brought another developer to the table from the audience??
then miyazaki shows up with a translator
he is welcomed, applauded, takes a seat
the first question he’s asked [from the audience:]
“what are your thoughts on the use of generative ai in the industry?”
Oh no.
i grab Thrombolomew the Profoundly Unlimited, Viscerally Trained, And Now A Word From Our Sponsors: Do You Need Help? Do You Seek Assistance? Do You Love Me? If So, Please Let Go. And Now, Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Program: Gatordog’s paw hard and he puts his other on mine
the translator gives him the question, he speaks in japanese, the translator declares:
“we are interested in the use of generative ai in game development”
i squeeze his paw so hard
the room is cold
everyone is silent
but he elaborates
“in two ways:
- moodboarding. we have generative ai create a bunch of images for design ideas, then create everything we want from scratch afterwards.
- debugging. it’s a very mundane and repetitive part of game development”
the room breaks into applause
there’s more wonderful questions asked about the industry and development, stuff i should’ve taken notes over but I’m too busy having my jaw drop to the ground
i got a lot of notes on games to study and reference for friendos’ design
i am shaking
i cannot do anything else until i catch up and process the last 3 hours of my life
In summary: fuck you no summary. This was one of the most dramatic social experiences of my entire life.
I also got to add a few cool developers from this panel as well, which is great!!
I had survived one full day of the convention, and it was already leaving a severe impact on me.
MOONDOG: I feel as though I have unveiled a very dormant personality that has not existed in a long time
ALEC HOAG: wdym
MOONDOG: I feel comfortable and confident
MOONDOG: I am not masking in a public setting
MOONDOG: and have not been for the last 27 hours
MOONDOG: The hope this brings cannot be overstated
That night, I had to walk all across Pittsburgh to get my bags and keys in order to move into my new hotel room.
And I already felt like a completely different person.
MOONDOG: it’s so odd that i pivoted so hard
MOONDOG: 2 years ago i was scared anxious misplaced and vulnerable
MOONDOG: tonight I’m confident and stable and i don’t shut down when my friend is in a bad mental state
MOONDOG: Whatever dude. That’s just Moondog
July fourth - AC two/four
MOONDOG: I’m lost in my hotel and every turn looks like this
Panel Three: Reviving Dead Online Worlds
This is a panel I visited together with Thrombolomew the Profoundly Unlimited, Viscerally Trained, And Now A Word From Our Sponsors: Do You Need Help? Do You Seek Assistance? Do You Love Me? If So, Please Let Go. And Now, Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Program: Gatordog for a simple reason: we were both heavily associated with Toontown: Corporate Clash, so it felt right to see what a similar panel was all about.
(Thank you Lilia Roo!!)
Surprisingly, me and… Thromby were able to connect with a very nice staff member from Toontown Rewritten through this panel. We held a nice and polite chat about current events.
After that, we… ALMOST MISSED THE CRUISE!!!!!!!
ALEC HOAG: The fact you dont know the whole Bit of Lilia Roo is kind of getting me
Shut up smart alec I want to talk about the cruise.
The cruise is a fairly inexpensive ($twenty-five) trip where a bunch of furries get on a boat together for like an hour.
Me and Thromby had no idea where it was six minutes before boarding closed, and had to run half a mile to get there… Somehow we made it, but I was physically torn.
(Too lazy to get my better pics so here you go)
It was a very fun hour, though!! At this point, I had become very comfortable being around fursuiters.
Soon thereafter, the cruise was over, and we began to depart from the boat.
Hey, do you remember that ⭐ absolutely decked Pokemon fit I saw before my connecting flight?
Well, I saw it again at the end of the cruise, and struck a conversation! Fortunately, it recognized my stupid hat from the same place. Turns out it also runs a game studio, and offered to help answer questions I have for setting up my own.
Yay, that’s nice!
Though my reaction was more like this:
MOONDOG: after we parted i bit into my arm and SCREAMED
MOONDOG: WHAT IS HAPPENING???????
Today’s plans remained stacked. After the cruise, I went to see Anthrocon’s jazz band.
(Half of the money hole. Lose all of your money here)
The jazz band was so freakin exciting!! I played in many different jazz bands in high school, so this was such a incredible experience to witness!
(A beautiful bad shot of the stage)
The band was so loud in that bigass ballroom, and ohhh those performers were freaking incredible!!
Sorry about the Balatro arrangement tho :x
After the jazz band, our group went to get Big Burgers. I didn’t tell anyone, but I pushed the group into this outcome as direct pressure from the furry Jack in the Box
(I believe this suiter goes by pandeji arts)
And then And then AND THEN!!
… We were done with our plans for a little bit. Today was the busiest day of the convention for me, and I had a lot of goals!
So for the next few hours, I hung out around the center by myself, and watched all the furries for quite some time, deeply immersing myself in this god-forsaken scenario.
I also got to meet several more friends for the first time, including Yeah Im Conservative. So What? (someone who is very, very near and dear to me), Jesus Christ and Armaghgeddon.
The Arcade Scenario
That night, several furry groups came together to visit a local rhythm game arcade in town. We did this instead of watching fireworks (July fourth ‘n all). I slightly regret missing em, but I also don’t care.
(The arcade bathroom has a full bathtub)
But to be honest, I wasn’t the biggest fan of this arcade… Even though I love rhythm games a lot, the vibe and flashing lights were giving me a pretty bad headache, so I had to take breaks. I also was very tired by then, so I had to bring a Red Bull.
Once we were done playing, I went to clean up the Red Bull…
…and I found it spilt over…
…next to a fursuit head…
…and it was drenched in my Red Bull!!!!!!!!!
WAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WAAGGGHHHHH!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAGGGGGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!
MOONDOG: So stressful to realize my drink was spilt right next to a fursuit head an feeling it drenched bro.
ALEC HOAG: Furry turbohell for you
ALEC HOAG: They’ll force you to wear a permanent fursuit and [REDACTED]
God, I’m really getting the full spectrum of experiences this year, aren’t I?
None of us in the arcade knew who spilt the Red Bull, but since the room was dark, we assumed it was just an accident caused by shuffling table items. The fursuit head was able to be cleaned the day after, but fuuuck I felt so bad!!
And I still feel so bad!! Sorry Booby!!!
After the arcade, I went back to my hotel room with my primary group (clave, Yeah Im Conservative. So What?, and Jesus Christ). We hung out for hours chatting and ordered incredibly mediocre pizza (though our first pizza was stolen too… geez!!).
clave and Conservative got decently drunk together, which I was uncertain about at first — I’ve never actually been around drunk people before, but fortunately they’re both very fun when drunk, so I felt relieved and comfortable very quickly.
I think these nights were some of the best times of my life.
July fiveth - AC three/four
Yesterday, the Dealer’s Den opened. I took a picture of the very full room while on my way to the jazz band, but completely missed it the first day.
I always wondered why my friends spent hundreds of dollars in this den. Like, it’s just merchandise… life goes on without silly knick-knacks…
Unfortunately, my paycheck arrived the day before.
I spent $250 on merch today:
- Two beautiful fox shirts
- Three obnoxious stickers
- A glow-in-the-dark starry lanyard
- A beautiful starry-moon wallet
- A mini key-chain balloon dog
- A print of a fennic fox (Gift for my friend Beatbox)
- This fucking thing (click, please)
(Big merch pull!!)
I also got to meet my favorite fursuit of the convention, Juggles!!!
(Hi juggles)
After the den, not that much happened in this afternoon.
My energy was SUPER LOW from the last few nights, and it was very warm during the main activities this day, so…
I went back to my room and slept for a very, very long time…
The Fight For Our Lives
MOONDOG: room is playing clair de lune and loud tiktoks under the premise of “you laugh you die”
Tonight, in our hotel room, we had the gall to order Mac & Cheese. We ordered it at one AM. Conservative and clave drank in advance, expecting it to arrive quickly.
Q: What’s the worst food you can order for a hotel room?
A: Walmart Mac & Cheese. It would smell fucking terrible.
This truth foreshadowed a terrible tragedy of this night:
The Mac & Cheese never arrived after two hours.
As the night progressed, our survival became more desperate. We were hungry, hungry. As miasma broke through the walls of the Omni and flooded our cracking domain with a platinum ether, we felt as though our souls were being rended — taken from us, bit by bit, to be reallocated in the River Styx.
In desperation, we ordered pizza at three AM. The witching hour.
One hour passes. It is now four AM.
And then.
The pizza arrives.
MOONDOG: the pepperoni bites are actually like
MOONDOG: ive never tasted straight up bliss when biting into something
MOONDOG: and I’m sober
MOONDOG: wtf
I watched as my drunk friends fell to their knees in tears from the Lord’s gracious offering of pepperoni bites. In the background, Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” plays on the speaker. We live in a god damn society.
Five minutes later we all passed the fuck out
July sixth - AC four/four
Oh my god, it’s the last day of the convention.
At this time, I had a boring thought about Anthrocon’s new mascot, Anthrocat:
MOONDOG: ramble: i think my favorite thing about anthrocat as a mascot is that… it does not feel new at all
MOONDOG: it feels like it’s almost as old as AC’s existence
MOONDOG: like the way it’s so natural and almost novice (no offense) makes it feel like this mascot existed since the first year
MOONDOG: and that they kept such a simple guy since the beginning by tradition
(Anthrocat my beloved)
In spite of my increasingly-fucked-up energy levels, I got up this morning and went to the furry orchestra.
This band was exciting — this was the very first furry orchestra ever organized!!
(Hello, Furry Orchestra)
Look, folks…
We live in some turbulent fucking times. The internet is not that old. Furries are fairly modern. Protogens have only existed for TEN YEARS.
So, to bear witness to an event like this? The very first band of its kind playing?
I know it sounds ridiculous, but it is so freaking important to me!! I feel like I’m on the cusp of something completely new!!
Anyways I spent another $100 on merch.
I couldn’t help myself. Also I needed to get some gifts for my mom.
By now, my journal starts to get more tired and less refined, especially as I was spending more time ambiently exploring the con and engaging with events less, so I have less entries.
But I do want to give a shoutout to this adorable critter.
(Hellos to Xio the Popplio!!)
I really enjoyed chatting with this Dog. He seemed super happy to be in suit, and not to mention it’s a total banger as well!!
At some point, I went to the closing ceremony. I didn’t have anything interesting of note to write about it. We went out for milkshakes, and then lounged for a bit in advance of KBBQ dinner plans.
Admittedly, I was feeling pretty dissociated tonight, and I was stuck more in introspection and discussions all afternoon.
This late into the trip, unique experiences were running sparse.
But that didn’t make the trip any less valuable. We kept getting food, we kept hanging out, we kept socializing, we kept laughing.
Even though the con was over, even though experiences stopped becoming firsts, the comfort never went away.
The comfort never went away.
Inevitably, time passed, and I found myself following a familiar group of friends to the edge of the convention center.
While the convention had been long over, furries and dancers flooded the waterfront, one last party at the end of everything.
Not one of us wanted to let go.
July seventh - Extra Day
We stood with beef and hugged her before she had to leave. Many of our friends had already left, but we chose to take an extra day in Pittsburgh after the con had ended.
It’s always been an effort to squeeze a little more out of it all.
Soon, Thromby had to go as well.
What? It’s all going so fast…
We spent the afternoon in xyzzy’s hotel room.
July eightth - Travel Day
A long night of Mario Party and Mario Kart. Pizza was involved, too. We lived together, and kept laughing until we were too tired.
I pushed for one strong hurrah this morning by going for a strong breakfast diner, and it filled us all up plenty. Admittedly, I didn’t like it so much, but my friends seemed to love it.
We drove a little more, and explored small parts of Pittsburgh in our dwindling hours.
Then, our next stop was the airport.
As we pull near, I discover that my 5 PM flights home were rebooked… to 5 AM. Twelve hour delay.
Fuck. Well, I have to get back to work on things anyways, I guess.
I spend my last three social hours together with Clave. And we reflect on the con, the way its influenced us, the ways we’ve been hurt, and the ways we’ve grown.
We say our goodbyes, and I grab dinner.
Since then, I’ve been alone in the airport, writing this blogpost. I last saw Clave at 5 PM, and now it’s almost 3 AM. My life resumes in 7 hours.
At some point, I called my mom to check in on her. Unfortunately, work has her incredibly stressed, and instead of excitement I was hit with a wave of reality. The storm I must return to, the lives I have to keep afloat.
Anthrocon will only ever be one week long.