The crew
The Possum: Opossum Facts and the Art of Playing Possum
Theatrical, dramatic and usually lying down.
The real animal
The Virginia opossum is the only marsupial found in the United States and Canada: females carry their young in a pouch, and the babies later ride on their mother's back. Opossums have a long bare tail that can grip branches and a pale, pointed face that looks permanently surprised.
They are best known for playing dead. When an opossum is badly frightened it can fall into an involuntary state that looks like death, mouth open and tongue out, for minutes at a time. That is where the phrase 'playing possum' comes from.
In the RaccoonVerse
The Possum turns that reflex into theater. It dives headfirst into a pile of clothes at the thrift store, falls asleep next to the Raccoon's snack throne, which counts as silence, and takes every setback as a cue to lie down. It is the Raccoon's most loyal friend and his most dramatic audience.
Possum shirts for anyone who has ever needed to lie on the floor for a minute.
