Will Keeping His Trashed Fursona Identity Harm His Future in the Fandom?

*Warning, this will contain a lot of rambling and scatterbrained...ness. If I had figured out the proper way to say/type it, I might have figured it out already*

Hi! Well this is interesting, I'm asking a question on the same day I found your blog! (Is that the right word? I don't know. ;w; )

So here's my predicament.

I've been using the same username for almost 3 years. In that span I've done a lot of things: make art, evolve in my art, make characters, make friends, but also make enemies. And these enemies seem to love coming back to take swings at me. Several going as far as to wish me death.

Now I'm not someone who enjoys when people give them pity, but I won't deny that I love attention. But it feels that the attention is falling less on the art and more on the conflicts. 

So I've decided to make the change from deviantArt, to FurAffinity as I feel that better artists tend to get more work and commissions there as opposed to everyone posting everything on dA without any control. So since April I've been practicing anatomy, poses, furry stuff, for months nonstop! And I'm just getting ready to make the move, but then comes the issue. I've had my fursona, Cassidy, for about a year now. My FA account has a few friends and watchers and the sort, but bares the name of my old account. I know that I can make another account to just avoid all of this, but I want to bring my fursona to the center of my art and not have to hide. 

I've kind of put my fursona on my current FA already quite a bit, considering my fursona has some better personality traits than I do (and is also the opposite gender than I, showing a different side of me), trying to start anew with some new people, new furs, a community I'd really like to be a recognized member in. But the trolls from my deviantArt could find it, and some have, and preblocked it (before I had even made it active as I've had it for a few years as well)!

I'm just not sure what to do! I've got some great friends, and with my current account name actually having my real name in a clever kind of way (I won't give my account away, but it's something like Katrina'sArtCollection, that sounds nice and stuff) but then have my fursona be the face of it without having to draw myself or anything.

I'd like to think I've changed in the negative things I've done on my dA account, grown as a person, etc., but these people haven't been around to see it. Makes me wonder if I should care what they think.

But my point is, after all that, is that would making a new account change anything? Remove the infamy? Or should I stick it out and continue with my friends and watchers, and ignore the haters and go strong? Would no matter what, the negatives or the past bleed through and it'll all be for not one day?

Thank you for reading my blabbering.

With the warmest of hugs,
Cassidy The Civet~

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Dear Cassidy,

One has to wonder what went on that you have enemies who want you to die. I’m sure that must be an exaggeration on their part, yet their enmity is clear. On the other paw, you’ve turned over a new leaf and have friends on your side. Good.

It’s not uncommon for furries to change their fursonas (or have more than one fursona), but this is more an issue with branding than with alter egos. You’re trying to brand your art business and make Cassidy the familiar face your customers associate with it.

Now, if we were talking about a brand image like the McDonald’s arches or the Nike swoosh or Tony the Tiger, I could definitely see the problem. You wouldn’t want to drop logos like that because they are recognized the world over. But you’ve only had Cassidy as your fursona for a year, so it’s hardly a widely recognized image. Establishing your art site with a different mascot character would not, therefore, be much of a setback and would not hurt your business or your desire for recognition in the fandom.

That said, you should also not allow yourself to be intimidated by trolls, who aren’t going to forgive you anyway, and are not going to be your customers or followers. So what if they trash you? Everyone gets trashed on the Internet at one point or another, including Papabear. I’ve been called an aspiring popufur who only writes a column for fame and money (I guess my accountant is hiding my money in Switzerland, because I haven’t seen a dime of it, LOL).

To answer your question: you are really facing a “six of one, half dozen of the other” situation. To my mind, it really won’t affect you much one way or the other how you decide this, so go with what feels right to you. Trust your instincts.

Good Luck,

Papabear