Latest Letter (March 20, 2025)Hello Papabear,
Hello! I have an interesting situation -- My main sona, Aryu, is a bull/deer mix. However, over time, I keep getting conflicting thoughts as to whether or not I should change him along with my other sonas. I don't really like the idea that I've gone with, and I consider changing them, however, there are a few things holding me back from changing. Those are:
There's also a flip side -- Reasons why I do want to:
All in all, it's a dilemma that's been going back and forth in my mind for awhile, and I've struggled on what to do about it. I'd like to make an adjustment to the sonas, and on the other hand, it'd also be a pain to have to re-adjust everything that came with them. Thank you, Aryu * * * Hi, Aryu, Thank you for your question. To me, the solution is obvious (and perhaps it just didn't occur to you): You can have multiple fursonas. Lots of furries have more than one fursona. You can keep Aryu for your DnD play, and you can certainly keep all the memories of Aryu, including any video recordings out there from furcons or meets. Now, all you need to do is create a second--and maybe a third or fourth!--fursona to do various other stuff with. You might think this could be confusing, but it's really not. You see, right now, Aryu is your main OC (original character), but what you do is create a new OC who becomes your main fursona and "demote" Aryu to just be a character in your RPGs. Later, you might even phase Aryu out by starting to create new adventures for whatever OC you design, introducing them to your fellow gamers and making Aryu more subordinate over time . . . or not. There's no reason you can't have two or more DnD characters. Being 19, you are bound to change fursonas with time, especially if you feel your fursonas are a reflection of you personally, because you are in a phase of your life where YOU are changing. Take me, for example. As a kid in grade school I was a wolf inspired by Kipling's character Akela. Later, in my teens and twenties, I was a dragon because I was waaaay into fantasy books. Finally, as I came to realize who I truly am as an individual, I became a bear, and that is likely where I will stay for the rest of my life. Now, just because I made these transitions sequentially, always being just one fursona at a time, this doesn't mean you can't have two or more fursonas developing in parallel to one another. I predict that when you reach your late twenties or thirties you may change fursonas again . . . or not. That's the fun of it, isn't it? You never can tell how things will work out until you get there. Make sense? If not, feel free to write again. Until then, stay furry! Bear Hugs, Papabear P.S. Hmm, rereading your letter, it seems you have other sonas? So, perhaps my reply was dumb? What do you think about what I said: making Aryu a more subordinate fursona and replacing them with a new primary OC? * * * Hello, I really wouldn’t want to do that, as for some reason I can’t bear to let that be the case, as I would feel guilty “dethroning” Aryu. He’s by design supposed to be 1 to 1 of me, aside from name and other factors. I have gone over and thought that I am overthinking the whole idea. That’s just me, though. What say you? Thanks a ton, Aryu * * * Hi, Aryu, First of all, I should say that you should never allow outside factors--people, culture, job, church--dictate to you what your fursona should be. This is about you and not anyone else. You know, there are two kinds of people in the fandom: one kind just uses fursonas as characters for role play and maybe fursuiting and such without any real emotional connection to the fursona, and the other kind has a deep, personal connection to their fursonas (the second kind usually only have one sona or perhaps a main sona and a few "background" secondary sonas). In your first letter, I thought maybe you were the first kind, but your follow-up seems to indicate that you have a deeper connection to your sona. To be clear, there is absolutely no problem with your having a hybrid. Hybrids, in fact, are common in this fandom. Often, features of not just two but of three or more species are combined into one. I mean, you could, for example, have a bear with antlers, wings, and scales. You could even create an original species altogether (as has often been done), or even combine biological and technological features (as with the popular primagens and protogens), and I have even seen people combine plants with animals. The reason you don't see people "catering" to specific animals is because it's impossible to cater to the nearly infinite possible combinations of hybrids. So what? So, if you are at, say, a con dealer's den and see merchandise pertaining to a wolf or a lion or a dragon or whatever, and you're, say, a wolf/lion hybrid, you can purchase something wolfy and something liony and there you have it. You can also easily find artists in the artists room or dealer's den and commission them to draw your OC. As for single species being more "iconic," well, I guess so. But there are also iconic hybrids out there that go back centuries, even millenia. For example:
In fact, one could easily argue that ALL anthros in the furry community are hybrids in that they are some kind of animal mixed with human characteristics. This applies less to those with feral sonas, but even they have some human attributes and could be called hybrids in that sense. I agree that you are overthinking this. Also, I say, go with your gut, and it sounds like your gut loves your fursona as it is, so why change? There really is no reason to if you don't want to. As I said, your fursona is for you. It is an expression of who you are and it is a means to show your creativity. Finally, please remember that this is supposed to be fun. If you enjoy the Aryu hybrid, then you should revel in the fun of being your character. Stop worrying so much. Does that help? Hugs, Papabear |
COMING SEPTEMBER 1
|