# Do you want your fursona(s) and/or OC(s) to "live on" after you are gone?



## Bababooey (Jul 22, 2021)

I made a similar thread a year ago, but since I don't want to necro it and lots more furries have joined FAF in a year's time, I figured I'd start a new one.

Yes. This is a bit of a morbid question. I think it's safe to say that most of us don't like to think about the inevitable day when we're going to kick the bucket. For me, it is a depressing thought, but that doesn't sway me from thinking about what will happen to a part of me when that happens.

A "part of me" could be anything. It could be my possible offspring, art, childhood photos, etc.. In this case, I am talking specifically about the character(s) that mean a lot to me and who I feel are an important part of me.

Think about it. It is not out of the ordinary for someone to want to "live on" somehow after they die. How someone chooses to "live on" is different from person to person. I'm only asking this question in regards to furries specifically.

So when you are gone, will your character(s) be gone with you, or do you want them to continue to exist (maybe by entrusting them to a friend) so that a part of you lives on?

I'm looking forward to reading your responses. 

Edit: In case I brought on existential dread for any users here, maybe this will help you feel better:


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## Rimna (Jul 22, 2021)

I think last time I answered that when I'm gone, my characters go with me. Or maybe that was in a thread about fursuits.

Since some time has passed, now I think differently. I've grown really fond of Rimna. I'd be sad if he's gone, so for my sake, he'll continue to "live on" in his world. I wouldn't want my profiles to get closed and deleted, and I don't have a friend I can entrust the monkey to. At least not yet. So, for all intents and purposes - Rimna will remain, as long as FA continues to exist and host my profile.


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## Jackpot Raccuki (Jul 22, 2021)

Me in real life: *Dies*

Jackpot and all of my other characters:





Technically they'll live on via art, such as old commissions and all that.
But so far, all I can think of is that anything NSFW is off limits, period.
Otherwise just art of them chilling is ok.

And whiles I doubt people will respect it, I'd certainly prefer people not to use my characters for RP or really using them outside of something like the SFW art I mentioned above, they finally escaped from me abusing and throwing them across multiple layers of canon and lore, let them finally rest.


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## Rayd (Jul 22, 2021)

now that i think about it, it would be an interesting concept to have like, an inheriting arrangement for an oc. not a very easy or reliable one, but interesting nonetheless. like it's just passed down from person to person. could maybe even have a world record for "longest living oc", lol. 

it would fulfill me in a way because one of the most harrowing things about death for me is that i may not have anything to leave behind after i pass away, due to not being very talented or business savy, and not really wanting children. so i feel like at the end of the road i won't be able to leave anything of my own creation behind as a testament to my life, whether it'd be crafts, a business, or a family.

technically, just having my sona existing on the internet is "leaving something behind" i suppose, but it doesn't really have the same effect for me since i wasn't the one that created the depictions of him. so if all else fails, maybe i could leave my sona to a friend, though if i were to pass due to old age, i imagine trading oc from old person to old person over and over wouldn't be all that effective. unless i were to inherit it to someone much younger.


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## LameFox (Jul 22, 2021)

I like the thought of it, since art is my way of getting ideas out of my head and into the world, and that would be about as close to achieving a goal as it can get. But I'd also be dead, so I'd never know it had happened. Ultimately I don't _really_ expect to see the kind of following that would make such a thing happen anyway, as I've never much liked the marketing side of things.


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## Luca the Foxcat (Jul 22, 2021)

I feel like what's most important to me about my death is the impression I've made on other people. If I die knowing I have given something to the lives of friends, clients, family, even complete strangers... then I think I can rest in peace. Sure I want a job, a boyfriend, I want to finish my indie game etc etc
But ultimately my end is the end of my impact on the people around me, and so too is it the end of my identity.
My fursonas past and present are inextricably linked with my identity, they were moulded around it as I grew... so I think I would want any OCs to be put up for adoption, hopefully for free, but my fursonas should die with me. I like that. That the end is a very definitive end.
Just because a movie is the best you've ever seen doesn't mean you want it to just keep going on and on. The ending wouldn't be as special if it kept going afterwards.

That's just my take on things.


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## O.D.D. (Jul 22, 2021)

I'll be dead and hardly in a position to care either way.


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## Kinguyakki (Jul 22, 2021)

They will just be art, but I really don't know of anyone who I would entrust to "carry on the legacy" by giving them my character to continue with.  Akki is mine.


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## Troj (Jul 22, 2021)

Naturally, I'll be dead, so I won't be in a position to care either way--THAT SAID, if I had my druthers, I'd be fine with people using my fursona to commemorate, memorialize, and reminisce about me, but I'd want people to respect my values, desires, preferences, and who I was while doing so.


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## O.D.D. (Jul 22, 2021)

Troj said:


> Naturally, I'll be dead, so I won't be in a position to care either way--THAT SAID, if I had my druthers, I'd be fine with people using my fursona to commemorate, memorialize, and reminisce about me, but I'd want people to respect my values, desires, preferences, and who I was while doing so.


Good fucking luck, Death of the Author is the new hotness.


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## TyraWadman (Jul 22, 2021)

If I can manage to see my ideas come to life before I die I actually intended to make it so that, after some time, all of the assets and characters would be free to use (with some small restrictions/limitations of course). 

If not though, it's not like I have anyone to inherit my stuff that will actually know what to do with it so I take it to my grave. I don't really expect someone to find my profile 100 years later and obsess over it.


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## Troj (Jul 22, 2021)

O.D.D. said:


> Good fucking luck, Death of the Author is the new hotness.



That's why it helps to have friends and loved ones who are committed to preserving a person's memory and at least shutting down people who attempt to engage in outright slander or character defamation.


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## Ramjet (Jul 22, 2021)

I'm taking that MF to the grave with me


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## Regret (Jul 22, 2021)

Nah, I wouldn't want my character to live on without me.  It's an extension of myself and without me being it just becomes what others perceive and interpret as me.


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## TheCynicalViet (Jul 22, 2021)

I actually plan to publish my comic someday so my OC's will be out in the open. I just hope that my story and characters give someone else some joy after I'm gone.


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## O.D.D. (Jul 22, 2021)

This just kind of solidifies my choice to not take my project any further.


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## Bababooey (Jul 22, 2021)

O.D.D. said:


> This just kind of solidifies my choice to not take my project any further.


What do you mean?


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## TheCynicalViet (Jul 23, 2021)

O.D.D. said:


> This just kind of solidifies my choice to not take my project any further.


I feel like there's a lot of things you want to say and I think it's healthy to express everything you wan to say before you lose your opportunity to do so. It's rare to decide to give up on a project without lots of internal thought, reflection, contemplation, and dialogue. You can start a passion project on a whim but rarely end it just as flippantly.

Please, feel free to share your thoughts. It might help you in the long run.


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## O.D.D. (Jul 23, 2021)

Not really, it won't help.  People will put words in my mouth the moment I open it, anything I write can and will be hijacked, coopted or misconstrued willfully or otherwise to fit someone's agenda and I would just as soon sit on it rather than deal with the bullshit thanks
People can't accept that fiction is fiction and not commentary or op-ed or whatever, it all has to serve some ulterior motive


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## Paws the Opinicus (Jul 23, 2021)

Pretty sure Paws will be gone and forgotten the moment I'm not around to say stuff on her behalf. She's already practically forgotten when not posting things as is.


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## Bababooey (Jul 23, 2021)

O.D.D. said:


> Not really, it won't help.  People will put words in my mouth the moment I open it, anything I write can and will be hijacked, coopted or misconstrued willfully or otherwise to fit someone's agenda and I would just as soon sit on it rather than deal with the bullshit thanks
> People can't accept that fiction is fiction and not commentary or op-ed or whatever, it all has to serve some ulterior motive


I'm sorry you've had some bad experiences. I wouldn't give up on your project though. :u


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## Nexus Cabler (Jul 23, 2021)

This makes me think, there should be a website that only archives artwork and other creations of the sonas (in a respectful way) of people who have unfortunately passed on, along with their contributions, influence, and allowing friends to comment. Sort of like how they have memorials for fallen soldiers and emergency response.


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## TheCynicalViet (Jul 23, 2021)

O.D.D. said:


> Not really, it won't help.  People will put words in my mouth the moment I open it, anything I write can and will be hijacked, coopted or misconstrued willfully or otherwise to fit someone's agenda and I would just as soon sit on it rather than deal with the bullshit thanks
> People can't accept that fiction is fiction and not commentary or op-ed or whatever, it all has to serve some ulterior motive


I think I know exactly what you mean if your post about Death of The Author and your...other posts are anything to go by. If I can give you some honest advice, best to just disregard any parties who try to interpret your work in bad faith. Their misinterpretations are like chaff among wheat. So what if they convince a few people that your work was problematic for x, y, or z reason? It won't matter in the long run if your project can stand based on it's own merit. So what if they hijack your IP? It won't matter in the long run if whatever they do to your project cannot hold a candle to your original project. People are not dumb and can see through bullshit easily. 

For the sake of fairness, I'll use myself as an example. I 100% guarantee you someone is gonna find something problematic about my story to try and tear it down. But I also guarantee that same person cannot, and will not, be able to put in the same amount of thought, care, and effort as I did into making sure all the little intricacies in my comic work and make sense. Which is why I'm not worried if my comic ever does get hijacked. I just want it finished. Hope that helped.


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## Minerva_Minx (Sep 16, 2021)

I want my fursona to die by snu-snu shortly after.

In reality, everything will either be co-opted or my kids will try to make sure this side of mom never comes to light of day.


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## The-Courier (Sep 17, 2021)

I'll be dead anyway, so I'll be beyond caring about what happens to any of my possessions after I die.

That being said, I'll have taken a _lot_ of lore with me to the grave, as I almost never write any ideas down. (And when I do, they're always on file on my computer, and not uploaded anywhere else.) So actually writing any of my characters or anything I have down without the proper lore context and vision I have for them will be difficult.


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## Lira Miraeta (Sep 17, 2021)

I want my characters to live on. Most likely I will not have children, but I would like to send at least something after myself. Therefore, I would like a part of me to stay alive in my art and characters.


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## Cinnamon_Cat (Sep 17, 2021)

I wouldn't really mind if my characters disappeared with me.


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## Eremurus (Sep 17, 2021)

I've come back to this topic about three times now, and still have no idea how to answer it. How peculiar.


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## Finn ^w^ (Sep 17, 2021)

once i am lost, so is the personality/embodiment of my fursona, there fore i dont think they would really exist properly. what i mean is once im gone, so is, well, them, in a way. if there is no one to take on the role of being said character, which only you can truly take on, then they would simply float around, maybe used in fanart if you were popular, but never quite portrayed they way you really would.

so in conclusion, your persona dies alongside you.


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## Nexus Cabler (Sep 17, 2021)

The rights to my art, literature, and merchandise of my sona will be available to others when I pass.

You want it? You can have it.

I will bury it all in one piece.

You just have to find it


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## Punk_M0nitor (Sep 20, 2021)

Honestly, I've never thought about this one before. It's really thought-provoking.

As a dead man, I don't exactly have much say in what happens with my belongings aside from whatever is in my will, so my opinion would be inevitably moot---it's not like someone can dig me up and ask me. That gives me a little less reason to care. It'd be a little pointless to worry so much about something that ultimately won't matter.

Still, I think I would want the character to die with me. I don't trust that people would stay faithful to his canon lore or character---and being a very close extension of myself, to misinterpret Steele would often be to misinterpret me. The only person whose hands I trust him in would be my fiance. Otherwise, I'd take Steele to my grave, along with his story, in some effort to keep him whole instead of a victim of fanon without an owner to protect him.


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## Kinguyakki (Sep 25, 2021)

I would be okay with my character going with me, unless there was someone in RL who "gets" the character and cares enough about him as an OC to not try to make him into something he was never meant to be.


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## NaveMcCanine (Sep 25, 2021)

Somber post indeed - but great discussion and thoughts shared.

Here’s the three choices I’ve seen it so far (based off reading through once):

1. I’m dead, doesn’t matter what happens.

2. I want my fursona/OC to live on (either through a friend or online art, etc.)

3. My fursona/OC dies with me. Hands off.

I understand we are not limited to these 3 choices (actually there’s plenty of overlap along with other choices not mentioned - just these were the main 3 I was seeing).

Personally, I haven’t really thought about it to much (mainly because I think I’m going to live forever lol jk of course), but the thought of my fursona to live one beyond death is both humbling and scary thing to me. Humbling because that means I would have left a lasting impression on those around me and possibly the fandom. Scary because it could be misrepresented or used for nefarious reasons, and the memory of me could be “tarnished.” But all in all, I’m going to be dead and shouldn’t matter to me at all, right?

But, it could impact the friends and family that I would leave behind. If my fursona/OC is misrepresented, then my friends/family could be shunned or shamed, depending on how it has been represented. I say this because my fursona is literally myself, just as a canine.

In the end, for the sake of the people that I leave behind, I wouldn’t mind being buried/cremated in my fursuit to attempt giving everyone one last laugh or smile - we need to celebrate life, not just mourn the death. With that, only the memory of me/my fursona will be left, a happy one I hope.

And that’s all I’ve got to say about that.


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## Lumineer (Nov 28, 2021)

I would like them to be remembered as I love for to people to admire the hard work I put into them but I would prefer they go with me because I can't stand the thought of someone else using them or making content or something with them and me not being a part of it


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## Foxridley (Nov 30, 2021)

Yeah, my fursona is kind of an extension of me. The only role I would want my fursona to play after I'm gone would be as a memory of me.


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