From our Crafty Fox’s Twitter:
This past weekend I was selling books in the MegaPlex Dealer’s Den. On Saturday afternoon I had an opportunity to be a positive role model and ambassador for the fandom to some up and coming members of the furry community.
Seeing as this was my first time at MegaPlex, I planned a selection of titles that I thought would resonate with the fandom at large including books from Rabbit Valley and popular titles from some other large furry publishers. It’s no big secret that many of the popular works are of a risqué nature. One of the responsibilities of dealers is to keep a watchful eye for minors, which is why I like to have a selection of family friendly comics for people of all ages to enjoy.
One of the things I hadn’t planned on was a higher than usual number of families in attendance. By Saturday afternoon most of the family friendly inventory I had selected for the event had sold out. A very knowledgeable twelve year old, her younger sister, and their father came by while I was sorting the inventory on the table. I politely informed them that most of the items on the table were for adults, expecting them to continue on their way.
The father gave me the knowing nod and tried to usher his daughters onward, but the kids are inquisitive. The older of the two started by asking where I got my kigu, and I told her Lemonbrat and pointed out where they were in the room. From there we spoke about how she made her own paws, fursuit head, and tail – which were adorable and I honestly thought were purchased.
The conversation moved to this being her second MegaPlex while it was my first. Though I did expand her world view when I told her that my first con was Anthrocon back in 1997. She was under the impression that Anthrocon started in 2006 (when it moved to Pittsburgh) and thought that she was born the same year as the convention. She did that whole mind blown look on her face. All the while her father watched on…
We then spoke about other conventions around the world and how large the fandom has grown over the years.
Of course I was able to guess her character species as she had made her own fursuit and was carrying the head in her hands. She and her younger sister tried to guess my character just from my kigu and badge art. Her younger sister figured it out. It was cute.
We spoke for about thirty minutes until I had to take care of some customers.
It doesn’t take much to put a smile on someone’s face and make a positive memory. I’m sure Dad thought they were bothering me and babbling on, but not at all; I learned a lot from them, and I hope they learned a little from me. I let the girls do most of the talking while I listened.
The future of the fandom is our newest members. It’s up to each and every one of us to make them feel included and part of the group. I’ve been an online member of the fandom since 1994, active at conventions since the late 90s, and have been publishing and distributing books with my husband since 1999 (he since 1997). It’s people like these sisters and their friends who will take over and put on awesome conventions in the future and I can’t wait to see what they come up with for all of us furries to enjoy.
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