Fūri

Fanart of Sam Taylor, a fūri

## Reference

**Fūri** are a simian cryptid that can shift forms between monkey-man and human-appearing. They first appear in Magic for Nothing.

Not to be confused with the Furies of the ghost world, nor with the furry fandom.

## Appendix Entry

**Fūri** (*Homo therianthrope*). Often proposed as the bridge between humans and therianthropes, the fūri is a monkey - specifically, a human - that takes on the attributes of another monkey - specifically, some form of spider monkey. Fūri transform instinctively, choosing their human forms for camouflage and their more simian forms for virtually everything else. A transformed fūri is faster, stronger, and sturdier than a human being. Offering bananas is not recommended.

## About

### Appearance

Fūri are indistinguishable from humans when sharing their form, and their voices and eyes stay the same in both forms.

In their simian form, a fūri is tall and sinewy with a tail almost as long as their body. Their faces appear somewhere between the average man on the street and an extra from Planet of the Apes. Their feet resemble that of gorillas, practically functional as an extra pair of hands. A simian fūri's hair may lighten so it appears to have highlights or ticking.

### Abilities

In their simian form, fūri are stronger, faster, and more agile than humans, able to leap many meters in one bound. They also have stronger bones than a human, to the point of being able to survive a gunshot to the head.

## Characters

* Sam Taylor
* Sam's father

## Quotes

**Excerpt:**

“What are you?” I blurted.

“Um,” he said. “Human, on my mother’s side. **Fūri**, on my father’s.” He looked at Emery for support.

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s rude to ask such blunt questions?” she asked.

“He’s a monkey, and a giant spider-woman just tried to kill us both,” I said. “I think the trauma excuses a little rudeness.”

“I don’t mind, Grandma,” said Sam. “She didn’t scream or freak out or anything when I showed up. That’s pretty cool. I’m okay if she wants to ask questions.”

Oh, I wanted to ask questions. I wanted to ask about a hundred questions, and then a couple hundred more follow-ups. Yōkai are plentiful in Japan and China, but not many have made the move to North America, which has its own cryptids, not all of whom are friendly to newcomers. The name fūri was familiar in that “I probably saw this once in a book” sense, but it didn’t come with any details. “Maybe later,” I said.

**Excerpt:**

“Did you have the tail as a baby?”

Sam nodded.

I grinned. “I hope your grandma has pictures, because holy shit, that must have been adorable.”

“Okay, there’s a script, and you’re refusing to follow it in any meaningful way,” said Sam. He scowled. “Mom didn’t leave because I was a yōkai, she left because she wasn’t ready to have a baby and my father had already fucked off to wherever it is monkey-men go when their tourist girlfriends get pregnant. She knew I was probably going to have a tail before I was born. And then Grandma told her about the Covenant, and she couldn’t deal, so she ran.”

## In Popular Culture

* Fūri (Japanese: 風狸) is a yokai of China and Japan. They are also called Fūseijou (風生獣), Fūbo (風母), and Heikō (平猴). They can be found in a variety of Edo-era literature as well as modern works.

## References

1. ↑ Magic for Nothing audiobook
2. ↑ https://www.dictionary.com/browse/fury
3. ↑ Appendix Field Guide: Books 6-9
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Magic for Nothing Ch. 14-15
5. ↑ Magic for Nothing
6. ↑ Follow the Lady