Characters / Circles

It is interesting to note that all of the characters in this story are actually humans. They are portrayed as animals because of Author Appeal, and the authors refer to this as seeing the characters through a "furry lens". That means that this is a Furry Comic in the sense that they are portrayed as animals and not because they actually are animals.

WARNING: Major spoilers ahead! Read at your own risk.

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The Kinsey Six

Paul "Paulie" Mayhew

The owner of the 6 Kinsey Circle residence, he is the oldest of the group and he was born and raised in England. He is Douglas' beloved husband and is portrayed as a Golden Retriever dog.

• Affectionate Nickname: He always insists for everyone to refer to him as "Paulie". He got this nickname from his college days when he met his first love, Colin, and he was the first to call him "Paulie".
• All-Loving Hero: Paulie loved everyone he met and always regarded every person with kindness, even his enemies like Carter Allen when he paid for his back injuries.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Paulie is the sweetest man, but he can get extremely angry if you set him off.
• Cool Old Guy: He is kind and caring and treats those close to him like family.
• Determinator: He is very determined and tries to get as much done as possible. He wants to live life to the fullest and as a result, he lived and prospered much longer than other HIV positive patients. He was suffering from aches and pains and kept quiet about it until his conditioned worsened. Even on his deathbed, he fought to stay alive to say his goodbyes to everyone he loves and all who loved him.
• Failure-to-Save Murder: Paulie is the Child, Arthur is the Hero, and Douglas is the Fool.
• "Friends" Rent Control: Paulie inherited a fabulous Boston mansion from his American aunt, then converted it to four spacious apartments.
• Gentleman Snarker: He likes to tease around and make quips here and there but it's all in good fun.
• Good Parents: He and Douglas are good fathers to Jason and he loves them back.
• Happily Married: With Douglas, a gay example played absolutely straight.
• The Hero Dies: Sadly, due to a drunken night, he contracted HIV from his friend Keith and over many years lived healthy until he succumbed to a rare form of leukemia.
• Ideal Hero: A bold and shining example. Most of his actions and motivations are heroic and philanthropic. He is also a kind and sweet guy.
• Idle Rich: He inherited a ton of money from his mother's side of the family and doesn't work because he is retired.
• Incompatible Orientation: Paulie loves Mrs. Nussbaum as a dear friend and he comments, "Why, if I were straight..."
• Interspecies Romance: With Douglas and previously with John and Arthur.
• The Leader: He was the owner of the residence and the leader of the group.
• The Lost Lenore: After his death, Doug took it really rough and his significance is still huge within the story.
• May–December Romance: When they first met, Paulie was in his late 40's and Doug was in his early 20's.
• Messianic Archetype: He has a very meaningful death and his absence leaves a huge impact. He was a very kind and wise soul, he had many followers, many people looked up to him, he brought a change to his part of the world, and many regarded him as a pure person. He had a huge influence on so many people, that nearly the entire city of Boston knows Paulie and brought him gifts and visited him when he was bedridden at the hospital.
• My Greatest Failure: His life-threatening mistake made him change his life around and now he lives as happily and as fully as possible.
• Necessary Fail: If he had never contracted HIV, he would have never met the others or held the safe sex speech where he first met Doug.
• Nice Guy: One of the nicest and sweetest people you could ever meet.
• Peaceful in Death: Douglas says that his death was very quiet for him.
• Silver Fox: Despite his age, some people find Paulie very attractive, especially Douglas.
• Team Mom: He is very kind and motherly to the others. He even prefers to call those who live in the residence his family.
• Three-Way Sex: Back when he, Arthur, and John lived together, they were all in a close relationship.
• Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Marty regarded him as too good for this world, saying that "There are so many awful people in the world and few good people."
• Verbal Tic: He ends many of his sentences by calling another person "dear". (e.g. "Of course it's true, dear.")
• Uncle Pennybags: He is very rich and a lot of fun to hang around with.
• Wealthy Philanthropist: He donates to many charities and helps those who are in need of money.

Douglas Pope

Paulie's beloved husband. He is portrayed as a river otter.

• Ambiguously Bi: Its never made it absolutely clear if he was a closet case or genuinely bi. Linda for one thing thinks their marriage would have been loveless, though it could be because she thought Paulie was his true soulmate.
• Cynicism Catalyst: When he first learns that Arthur was there when Paulie got sick and then he suffers even worse when Paulie actually passes away.
• Failure-to-Save Murder: Paulie is the Child, Arthur is the Hero, and Douglas is the Fool.
• Good Parents: He and Paulie are good fathers to Jason and he loves them back.
• Happily Married: With Paulie, a gay example played absolutely straight.
• Interspecies Romance: With Paulie. Averted, however, with Linda, another otter.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Very emotional and sometimes lets his temper get the best of him. But, overall he means well and apologizes for his awful behavior.
• Likes Older Men: He was attracted to Paulie and it's how they started a relationship.
• May–December Romance: When they first met, Paulie was in his late 40's and Doug was in his early 20's.
  • Mayfly–December Romance: Tragically however, due to Paulie's HIV, Doug becomes the December.
• Parental Neglect: When he broke up with Linda, she never told him that she had a son until years later. He would visit them occasionally but overall was hardly there when Jason was growing up. However, after Linda's death and winning custody over Jason, he and Paulie become Good Parents to him.
• Supreme Chef: He is a master chef and can cook really delicious recipes. Brownies are his specialty and Paulie's favorite.
• Younger Than They Look: He looks about the same age as Paulie but he was in his early 20's when he first met Paulie.

Arthur Korsky

Paulie's other closest and oldest friend along with John. He is portrayed as a brown bear.

• The Bear: Both figuratively and literally.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Arthur is a big bear with a heart of gold, but when he and Doug encounter a thief, he chases after him and knocks him out with a mighty punch.
• Bruiser with a Soft Center: He's got mighty strength but he prefers to work as a humble artist and likes to cook as well.
• Failure-to-Save Murder: Paulie is the Child, Arthur is the Hero, and Douglas is the Fool. And the murder is actually a deadly disease that took years to kill.
• Gentle Giant: Easily the biggest and strongest in the group. And yet, he has a big and soft heart to those he cares about. He was extremely apologetic about Paulie and he made a great Santa for all the little children.
• I Let Gwen Stacy Die: He feels guilty about Paulie getting sick and constantly blames himself, with Doug only making it worse.
• Interspecies Romance: With John and previously with Paulie.
• It's All My Fault: Arthur blames himself for years for getting Paulie sick.
• Nice Guy: Arthur cares a lot about Paulie and treats all of his friends with respect.
• The Scapegoat: Douglas blames Arthur for getting Paulie sick when in reality all of them were too drunk to know any better, especially with Arthur passed out.
• Three-Way Sex: Back when he, John, and Paulie lived together, they were all in a close relationship.

Kenneth "Ken" Brassai

Another dear friend to Paulie. He is Mike Lang's boyfriend and he is portrayed as a cheetah.

• Evil Uncle: His Uncle Davis had serious mental problems and his mother thought it would be best to send him to the military to sort him out. It worked for a while, but then he started drinking and being the same as before the military. He apparently had his way with many young girls and then pressured Ken to do intimate things with him. He also threatened Ken to never tell anyone what they did together and Ken hated himself and he dropped into the funk that we see in the middle of the story.
• Freudian Excuse: He loves and leaves many people because he is afraid of getting close to them. The one time he did get close to someone was when his abusive uncle sexually abused him. He was traumatized and has repressed the memories for so long. When he meets Bo and his abusive ways, the memories came flooding back and since Paulie is the only one he trusted, he told Paulie everything about his childhood. This removed the weight off of his shoulders and now he has a healthy relationship with Mike.
• Gym Bunny: He frequently hits the gym.
• Interspecies Romance: With Mike, the field mouse.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: The "Jerk" part is at least only present early on when his jealousy and resentment of Marty getting together with Taye causes him to continually insult Marty's chubbiness. When he discovers that Marty has a lot more strength and determination than he thinks at the gym, and witnesses him put the bully there in his place (with assistance from Gus), he changes his tune and apologizes, starting a true friendship with Marty and revealing he has a heart of gold after all. Just in time to receive what some might considered delayed Laser-Guided Karma from Bo, his abusive dominant boyfriend.
• Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places: Apparently, in Issues 7 and 8.
• Parental Neglect: During his childhood, because his mom was working very hard all day and had to take up two jobs, she was almost never at home. She cared for Ken but couldn't spend time with him much. This made him an easy target for Uncle Davis.
• Token Minority: His backstory reveals that he is racially black and his family originates from South Africa. He even refers to himself and his friends as "me and the other black kids". As far as the other characters are concerned, none of them seem to be minorities except for Ken.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: He never had a father figure in his life and when he met Paulie, he does what he can to make him proud and considers him a dad.

Taylor "Taye" Dooley

A young and aspiring performer. He is Marty's boyfriend and is portrayed as an Eastern Grey Kangaroo.

• Cuteness Proximity: When Marty blushes, he screams about how cute he looks like when he is blushing.
• Flamboyant Gay: On occasion.
• Genki Guy: He is quite campy and energetic. He was made for the stage because of his flamboyancy and love for acting.
• Gratuitous French: He likes to throw in some French words here and there, "like Pepé Le Pew" Taye says, and Paulie quips and calls it "Franglais". ^note The words français (French) and anglais (English) combined. It's also amusing that his lover happens to be a skunk like the French-speaking Pepe Le Pew.
• Interspecies Romance: With Marty.
• Kangaroos Represent Australia: He is a kangaroo and he was born in Sydney, Australia.
• Keet: He is super excitable and is usually full of energy.
• Manchild: He isn't a very serious person and can even come off as childish at times.
• Manic Pixie Dream Guy: Taye helped Marty become more confident and to come out of his shell. Marty had a limited and sheltered view in life due to his shyness and innocence. But Taye taught him that there is more to life and gave him the push he needed.
• Performance Artist: His father was an electrician and fixed the stage lighting while Taye loved to perform on stage.
• Sexy Shirt Switch: After their first time having sex, Taye walks out of the bedroom wearing only one of Marty's shirts.
• Squee: He flips out like a fangirl when he sees Marty blush from his compliments because "no one ever blushes anymore"!

Martin "Marty" Miller

A late addition to the group who is a college student and the youngest adult. He becomes Taye's boyfriend and is portrayed as a skunk.

• Affectionate Nickname: Taye likes to call him "Teddy Bear".
• Anguished Declaration of Love: After having enough of his grandma constantly nagging him about getting a girlfriend and asking him why he doesn't want to, Marty yells and screams that he is gay and he doesn't want any girl because he only likes Taye.
• Berserk Button: Constantly bugging him and nagging him about the same subject over and over can really set him off.
• Coming-Out Story: Marty is forced to come out to his parents and finds that they are largely okay with it.
• Heroic BSoD: He has a brief one when he starts panicking because his parents are at the door of the house and he is going to have dinner with them and they will meet the other Kinsey boys.
• I Want Grandkids: Marty gets pestered by his grandma to settle down and have kids.

• Interspecies Romance: With Taye.
• Jewish and Nerdy: He is Jewish and has geeky/nerdy hobbies (computer whiz, plays video games, plays Dungeons & Dragons, Star Wars fan and dressed as a Jedi.)
• Naïve Newcomer: He is the youngest adult and is first introduced at the beginning of the story when he first moves in. He is curious and asks many questions, as well as being rather innocent.
• Nice Guy: Marty is a chubby, shy, and awkward young adult who has geeky hobbies and blushes whenever he is complimented.
• Nice Jewish Boy: He is Jewish and a very nice guy, and he may be even nicer and more polite than Paulie himself.
• Not Wanting Kids Is Weird: Marty's grandma asks him why he wouldn't want to get married to a girl and have children.
• Obliviously Beautiful: Many people refer to Marty as "cute" but he always blushes and seems to deny it.
• Shrinking Violet: He was rather shy, awkward, and insecure when he met everyone at the beginning of the story. But with Character Development, he grew into a brave and confident person.
• Stout Strength: Marty is a chubby guy who doesn't hit the gym but when he does, Ken and his buds are impressed with his strength and endurance.
• Third Wheel: His first relationship was in high school when a friend hooked him up with a guy. Unfortunately, this "friend" was just using Marty to get closer to the guy and eventually steals him from Marty.
• Token Minority: He is the only Jewish character in the group.
• Younger Than They Look: He is 20 at the beginning of the story, although from his appearance, he looks like he could be older than that by a few years.

Minor Characters

John Brockhurst

Paulie's oldest and closest friend along with Arthur. He was Paulie's first lover in America and he introduced Paulie to Arthur, which led to their three-way relationship. He is the owner of the Triangle Books bookstore and he is portrayed as an American Badger.

• Interspecies Romance: With Arthur and previously with Paulie.
• Three-Way Sex: Back when he, Arthur, and Paulie lived together, they were all in a close relationship.

Mrs. Esther Nussbaum

An elderly lady who lives in the same Kinsey Circle neighborhood. She is very fond of Paulie and the others and she is portrayed as a Grey Squirrel.

• Cool Old Lady: She is sweet and caring and can really tear you a new one if you are petty like Carter Allen.
• Fag Hag: She is a widowed straight woman who loves Paulie and the others, despite her late homophobic husband.
• Never Mess with Granny: She has a sharp tongue and is very wise and caring towards those she loves. She has a gay grandson who nearly committed suicide which leads to her having no tolerance for homophobia.

Carter Allen

A father who lives in the Kinsey Circle neighborhood. Unlike Mrs. Nussbaum, he dislikes the Kinsey boys and believes they are sinful and will be a bad influence on his two young sons. He is portrayed as a red fox.

• Cranky Neighbor: He dislikes the 6 Kinsey Circle residents because they are all gay and isn't comfortable raising his sons around them.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: He holds a meeting with the entire neighborhood and doesn't invite Paulie and the others because he wants to discuss what to do about them. He doesn't want to live near "fags" in his neighborhood.

Spoiler Characters

Jason Pope

Douglas' son born out of wedlock from when he was together with his girlfriend Linda. Jason lived with his mother and when she passed away, Doug won custody over Jason from Linda's parents. He is the youngest member of the residence and he is portrayed as a river otter.

• Cut Himself Shaving: When he returns home and slams the door, Paulie and Douglas rush to him to ask if he is okay. He reveals he is injured and says "he hit himself with a locker". Paulie is incredulous but Doug was already aware of what happened and told Paulie that he actually got in a fight due to being teased about his fathers.
• Mistaken for Gay: Because his mother passed away and he is living with two fathers in a house full of gay men, the bullies and some of his peers make fun of him and his dads and they think he is gay also.