Further Confusion 2025


Animal Business.
As my good buddy Jovian and I reflected on our time at Further Confusion this year, held from January 16-20th, we wondered: is it time to accept that we’re getting older? We both noted a distinct lack of energy on our parts throughout the weekend. Attempts to drink and party weren’t anywhere near as rowdy as in years past, and I especially surprised myself by not venturing to the Party Floor even once. Of course, there’s more to a furry convention than staying up all night knocking back malt liquor on a Marriott balcony. This FC still produced the kinds of good times and memories that keep us coming back…so confronting the passage of time wasn’t all that bad.

Willow and I roomed and traveled with Colfox and Mae. While we were walking around SeaTac after getting through security, I received a text from Jovian breaking the news to me that David Lynch had just passed away. Not an awesome start to the weekend…

Our flight to San Jose was only ⅔ full, so we were really able to spread out. There were other friends on our flight as well, including the most special guest of the weekend: Flausch, visiting all the way from Germany!

When the roomies and I safely landed and arrived at the Marriott, we were met by Val and Trevor, who kindly helped us get our luggage up to the room. We didn’t get a room right next to Jovian and Gwen like we wanted, but our rooms were across the hall from each other, which was the next best thing. Once we were settled in, we had to get to work. First Willow and I started setting up her Dealer’s table. It was a great arrangement - her table was right next to Gwen and Sporeprince’s shared table, which in turn was next to Jaycostumes’ table. A very fun lineup. I spent a lot of time that weekend helping out Willow as her assistant, but I shared the duty with Mae and Flausch.


My art show panel!


Check out my clarified Mai Tai.
We paused the Dealer’s setup in time to join Jov and Gwen for Art Show setup. Participating in the Art Show as both an artist and bidder was the great highlight of this FC. I’d managed to knock out 6 traditional art pieces before the con. I’m not a very prolific artist, so I felt proud having that much new work hanging up, ready to be auctioned. Jovian, Gwen, and Willow all had amazing pieces up for sale too. One of Willow’s was a horse-themed collaboration between the two of us.

After all the work was hung, we rewarded ourselves with a hard-earned takeout dinner from the food court near the convention center. My tikka masala bowl was pretty good. We chowed down and got ready for my third annual meetup at Dr. Funk, the local tiki bar.

The past two years had seen a very manageable turnout of guests, but in the leadup to this FC, I was blindsided by how much interest the event was receiving. RSVPs just kept rolling in. By the time we arrived in San Jose I was getting pretty worried that it would be gauche to bring so many people into an establishment without warning the staff ahead of time. But my attempts to contact Dr. Funk by phone were unsuccessful…so I advised everyone that we’d proceed as planned, accept that we probably could not all sit together, and behave as model citizens.


I ♥ Dr. Funk
When the first wave of guests and I arrived at 10 PM, I was a little concerned to see that unlike previous years, Dr. Funk was actually busy. Luckily, the front patio area was empty. It didn’t offer the same immersive ambience as the inside of the bar, but at least there was lots of space and we’d be out of the way of the other patrons. So we took our seats around the outdoor firepits and made ourselves at home. And then more guests rolled in, and more, until eventually our group was filling up the entire patio, and even furries I’d never met before had joined in. It was a complete blast.

Best of all, our server was incredibly accommodating and loved us. We tried our best to help him out by tipping well and continually bussing the large collection of empty glasses that kept accumulating outside. At the end of the night, he shook my hand, asked my name, and thanked me for bringing everyone. It seemed really genuine, so my anxiety over being a nuisance melted away. I was just happy to have gathered so many friends together to support a local business I’ve come to love.

Friday morning began with the signature Grocery Outlet trip. Then, back at the Dealer’s Den, I took a break from assistant duties to join some friends in taking a spin around the Den. I had to spend some money at Gwen’s table first - exciting things were happening. Not only was she debuting an awesome new shirt, but she and Jovian had just released Friské, their new adults-only playing card deck. Each card features a unique pin-up, every piece of artwork being a collaboration between the two of them. A wide array of species and body types are represented. It was a lot of work and a serious accomplishment, and I needed to secure my copy immediately.


Always a highlight to see some classic suits out and about! Here's Walden by Shawn Keller and Pinky by Dave Kuhn.
Other than shopping around the Den or helping out at Willow’s table, my other major activity of the day was the 25 Years of FC panel, which Jovian and Col accompanied me to. Several veteran FC staff members gathered in a Hilton panel room to share stories about the convention’s early years. I loved listening to them, and I really regret not taking notes during the panel! Luckily, Jovian did. Here’s a few tidbits he recorded:

- John Lasseter was a “secret” Guest of Honor one year.
- The late Toby Bluth was also once GoH. He got along great with Jim Groat.
- The fictional furry convention featured in the infamous CSI episode was originally supposed to be called “FurCon.” FC had just enough time to trademark this name and prevent it from being used in the show.
- The FC Art Show panels used today are the same ones that were custom-built 25 years ago. Their metal supports were painted by a Golden Gate Bridge painter, with some of the same paint used on the bridge!

After Dealer’s closed up, Willow and I went out to dinner and made it back to the con center just in time for the Art Show reception. This was an evening event just for participating artists, as well as dealers (who often miss the chance to bid on artwork while they’re busy at their tables). We got to pick from a selection of desserts and browse the show. With so many friends and acquaintances participating, it was a really fun time.

Around 10 PM, I made time to fursuit. Jovian and I got in fullsuit, Mae partialled as Rio, and Raigr joined us as well while Gwen took photos. The con theme this year was “Animal Business,” which we all loved. The con space had “cubicles” full of office supplies to play with, a giant Enron-themed coffee mug, and other props that made for fun fursuiting. After de-suiting, I was too sleepy to stay up any later.


Office hijinks: putting fish in the microwave.


Meeting a cute heeler while out suiting.
Saturday brought with it a headache and the FC signature mids breakfast at Whispers. After that, the whole hotel room took turns taking giant dumps and the toilet actually clogged. We had to call a guy to come fix it, leaving Mae quietly crying with laughter on the hotel bed.

The afternoon passed with most of my time spent helping at Willow’s table, but I was also able to squeeze in some fursuiting time with Colfox. Later, Willow and I made it to the Art Show for part of the “rolling close.” This is the very end of the show, where it closes down one panel at a time, and onlookers are able to put in last-minute bids. The whole affair was led by a staff member with a megaphone, who did not hesitate to threaten those who refused to remain quiet. It was very exciting, especially when we got to witness a bidding war over a Paul Peng piece. We headed out after ensuring we’d won the Friské originals we bid on at Jovian’s panel in the 18+ section.

Next, we got in the extremely long line to pick up our Night Market wristbands. We hung out with Madast in line, who had won a Twitter raffle for a mask made by Joaquin Baldwin (best known among furries for his work on Zootopia). Madast was coordinating the mask pickup, and it ended up happening right there in the line, so Willow and I had the brief pleasure of meeting Joaquin.


Willow Horse!
Dinner and Night Market prep followed, and eventually Willow, Mae, Col, Gwen, Jov and I were all ready to hit the Market. I partialled as Rio, wearing the Wile E. Coyote Western buttonup Col gifted me, and led Willow around in her latex pony getup. (“The blind leading the blind,” Mint later commented). We loved getting our photos taken at the photobooth, but otherwise, I honestly don’t remember much from this evening.

At noon the next day, we gathered for another Knox-organized trip to Needle to the Groove. This year, Devin drove us there, instead of us being forced to walk! I was once again impressed with the folk selection and bought a Dock Boggs record. Then we went to a nearby Vietnamese spot, where I had an amazing chicken soup. The outing forced me to miss both the inflatables panel and Rod O’Riley’s panel, but it was worth it.

Meanwhile, Jovian and friends attended the Art Show voice auction. One of my pieces, Vulpe Gulp, had racked up enough bids to go to voice. Jov sent me a video of the piece up for auction. Even though it received no additional bids, I loved the sight of it projected on the big screen.


My most successful piece in the art show, Snarlboro Man.
I stayed at Willow’s table until the close of the Dealer’s Den. Ya gotta love the feeling of accomplishment and camaraderie when staff announce the Den is officially closed, and all the dealers cheer. I helped Willow pack it in. The table had provided some good memories that weekend…chilling with Jovian while he helped at Gwen’s neighboring table, watching Willow meet her fans, running the table with Flausch and having to interact with an unsavoury customer. I doubt I’ll ever have my own table at a con, so I’ve been grateful for the opportunity to see what the Dealer’s Den is like from the seller’s perspective.

At the Art Show checkout, I got my framed Friské original (a sexy thylacine pin-up), as well as a very decent check, with all my pieces having sold. As someone who doesn’t typically sell art or take commissions, the novelty of receiving a good payday for my artistic pursuits was appreciated.

All that Art Show and Dealer’s success had us ready to celebrate. I had been eyeing Morton’s, the nearby steakhouse. Willow, Mae, Col, Gwen, and Jov were all in - but we hadn’t expected this trip to include a nice dinner, so we didn’t pack accordingly. When we rocked up to the low-lit lobby, the hostess could barely hide her contempt at the members of our party wearing beanies and unknowingly violating the “no hats” rule. With the offending beanies removed, luckily our outfits were acceptable enough to permit us a table. The server was a lot more warm and friendly, and it was a very good meal, though maybe not as good as the enforcement of a dress code would imply.


Chester Ringtail in ASCII art form.
Full of filet mignon and lobster bisque, we headed back for a small hotel room party that kicked off with a game of King’s Cup, utilizing a Friské deck. When the intimate gathering came to a close, I joined friends in exploring the convention center for one final night. The late-night pool toy room was crowded but cozy, and mostly dark save for the light-up balloons strewn around everywhere. The faux office cubicles in the main con space also kept us entertained. There was an old Apple ImageWriter printer set up with a corresponding Telegram channel you could send stickers to, and it would print out an ASCII-art version of your chosen Telegram sticker. I am definitely not enough of a tech whiz to understand how that worked, but it was cool.

And pretty soon, we were waking up on Monday morning. We said our farewells to friends in the lobby, but still had plenty of company at the airport. There was a rough plan in place to visit the SJC Trader Vic’s, but once we got through security, I had to admit that I just did Not feel like drinking. Luckily, everyone was okay with the change in plans. Passing the nearby Trader Vic’s Outpost, we saw they were offering iced coffee drinks with fun tropical flavors. It seemed like the perfect compromise, so Willow, Jovian and I all got one. Each iced coffee was disgusting in its own special way, but Jov’s was particularly bizarre. Gwen accurately described it as tasting like “the flavor that comes after umami.” Stick to cocktails, Vic.


More fond memories at the office.

All told, even without a lot of fursuiting or partying, it was a very good FC. Taking part in the Art Show and spending so much time there was really fulfilling. The chance to attend a historical panel and hear stories from some old-timers is one of the greatest gifts a furry convention can offer. And the very successful Dr. Funk outing left me with some serious feelings of gratitude for my community and the way this annual trip to San Jose has become a fixture in my life.



<-- PREVIOUS CON | BACK TO MAIN | NEXT CON -->