# Choosing the Right "Essence" for your Fursona



## mindwasp (Mar 18, 2015)

It's taken me a bit to really consider what I want my fursona to be.
In the past I've been a horse, a demonic horse, and now a wolf - all for reasons that are relevant to my lifestyle and who I am in my day-to-day life, but none of which have really felt correct.

I'm curious what sort of avenues others have gone down to really find the right *inspiratio*n, or find the right animal that speaks to *who they are*. 
Secondarily, there is this never ending quest of *uniqueness* and *personal identity* with a fursona, so I'm wondering how people approach that as well.


(As a sidenote - my name being "mindwasp" has little to do with an affinity for wasps. I actually can't stand them, the name is a cruel sort of irony - so I'm looking to steer clear of any insects  )


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## Maelstrom Eyre (Mar 18, 2015)

Over the years I've daydreamed about "being" various species - for a long time I was really settled on big cats, particularly tigers and black leopards.  Gradually became more drawn to canines, more wolves than foxes.  When I was a kid, I would play in the swimming pool for hours on end, imagining myself as an orca or dolphin, sometimes as an otter.

My own demeanor tends to be aloof and reserved around people I do not know well, I often appear much more serious than I intend to, but around more trusted friends I am more silly and outgoing.  Still, I am not and have never been "cute."  I mean, I will see people fursuiting or even RPing that they hug and nuzzle and chirp and squeak and it is cute, but it is not me.

I am also not a badass, though.  I'm not intentionally mean or cruel, I don't pick fights or start trouble just for the sake of doing so.  I know there are some fursonas that are all about being these brave fighters and warriors and monsters - again, it's cool, but it's not me.  And I know it is kind of the popular thing in the fandom to take on a fursona that is heavily influenced by characters from a tv show (MLP, Sonic) or a video game (again Sonic, or Starfox, or others) which is fine but I am not a gamer and I prefer to "create" rather than "copy" another person's species or race.

So, the orca-wolf just fits me, at this stage in my life, and who I am as a real person too.


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## DrDingo (Mar 18, 2015)

If you pick any species, there will be traits you share with it. So if I were you, pick a species you like the look of. That's what I did. The sciencey bit came much later! 

It's more fun and personal if you grab a species you already enjoy and then artificially make the character what you want it to be.


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## hey look a train! (Mar 18, 2015)

man i chose to go with the wolf, German Shepherd hybrid because, i am loyal like a German Shepherd, but i am also as vicious as a wolf, and i never back down, so i basically matched mine up with the traits that make me who i am


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## Gator (Mar 18, 2015)

All it took for me was a conversation with a friend who knew me fairly well.  "You've always identified with this animal in the past, and you have a lot in common with it now.  Why isn't it that?"  OH RIGHT, DUH.  
so that was an easy one.

it'll hit you eventually... and if not, there's nothin' wrong with having multiples or one that changes form.


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## VÃ¦r (Mar 18, 2015)

Growing up I used to watch one of my favorite Anime over and over; Neon Genesis Evangelion. In one of the beginning episodes they mentioned Shinji (the MC) having something called 'The Hedgehog's/Porcupine's Dilemma". It was something I truly identified with. So I researched it a bit more.

When I joined the Fandom I was told to pick a Fursona. It took a long while and I considered many different animals and hybrids. Then came to my mind, 'How would I interact with these people?!" I was filled with some anxiety and fear. Then it popped in my head again; "What a dilemma." I thought back to researching the dilemma.

In short the Hedgehog's/Porcupine's dilemma could be paraphrased as, "As living creatures we all want to experience closeness. But for the hedgehog/porcupine, the closer they get to one another the more they have to worry about their quills hurting one another. No matter how close they try to get to each other it can only cause them pain. Yet they choose closeness and live with the pain."

I reflected on it and after thinking I decided it fit me. 

So I went with Porcupine. I picked an Asiatic Brush-Tailed porcupine to represent my Asian heritage.


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## FeralOne (Mar 18, 2015)

I have several fursonas. All of them representing some aspect of me. My primary, sona, however is still under development(she is not on display anywhere atm due to this). But I do know what she is at least. For several reasons, I decided an alien was the best choice as a sona for me. In creating her design, I took any features, both real and imaginary, I adored and incorporated them in as well as a few things of my own invention. Her abilities are of what I like to do and of what I wish I could do. But this is as far as I have gotten. What she is like and her back story have not yet been fully figured out. For me, it's been a never ending quest spanning over 16 years. And it feels like it never will end.


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## Unsilenced (Mar 18, 2015)

Almost all my choices for my character's species have been spur-of-the-moment, and I always find a way to make it logically consistent with what I wanted for the character. Usually something about their behavior or traits as an animal can be made to fit the character, and serve as point of reference for seeing if things do or do not fit their personality. The appearance/reputation of a species are the most important things to me. Choosing a species is a huge part of how the character looks, obviously, and thus the first impression anyone has of them. Multiple different species can work just as well for the same character, though. Just for for your gut feeling, and hopefully other people will associate the animal to similar things. 

Doing a character that 'is you' generally doesn't turn out very well because nobody has a a particularly objective view of themselves. You know so many details of yourself that it's hard to know which ones are the most important/visible in terms of writing 'you' as a character. Trying to do 'aspects' of your personality in multiple characters might work better, because you can isolate smaller, simpler traits without having to wonder if it fits in or conflicts with something else.


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## mindwasp (Mar 18, 2015)

Thank you for all of your input, guys! This has actually been really insightful and it has definitely helped.


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## Volkodav (Mar 18, 2015)

my fursonas essence is vodka, B.O, and puke

I just chose random species and breeds of dogs that I liked, so I have multiple fursonas.
Wolf, two APBT, a Dutch shepherd, an oriental shorthair, basenji, and a Turkmen alabai


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## LazerMaster5 (Mar 18, 2015)

So I feel like being a fox. It just feels right. Bam. Not much else, really. I like cats, Shibe Inus, and huskies just as much, but dammit, I just feel like being a fox. I don't feel why, I just feel more of a connection to foxes than other animals.


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## funky3000 (Mar 19, 2015)

Pretty much the way I became a cybercanine is I made an OC about a year ago, turned it into a species, made another OC, and eventually adopted him as my new fursona.


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## Dr. Franken-Fox (Mar 19, 2015)

For me it was less of a matter of picking a species that matched my personality and more a matter of taking a species I already visually liked, i.e a fox, and adapting it to suit my personality. I'm pretty introverted, in fact at a stretch I'd say I'm borderline agoraphobic, so I decided make him an albino which would explain why he doesn't get out much since he's intolerant to sunlight. 

 Additionally, the mad scientist persona is something of an exaggeration of my own eccentricities, like a mad scientist I have a logical mind but I also tend to get lost in my own little world so all-in-all it seemed appropriate for my 'sona to don the lab coat.


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## kestraroo (Mar 19, 2015)

For a while during my Neopets phase, I used to represent myself as an anthro kangaroo. I hadn't seen anyone represent themselves that way before, and the thought of having big stompy feet and a pouch really appealed to me. It was also similar to my favorite pet, the zafara.

That was back in mid-2000s, though. Flash forward to now. I've spent the last year volunteering with an educational program that uses non-releasable birds of prey to help teach the public about conservation. We had a kestrel for a while, and he was a sweet, sassy little bugger. I love all our birds, but he was pretty special to me. So when I decided to embrace the furry side of me, I combined that old kangaroo self with kestrel traits, and came up with what I have now!

I thought it would be a cute, unique combination, so I rolled with it. I love my little girl so much, even though she doesn't have a name and her design is still getting little tweaks here and there.


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## BadRoy (Mar 19, 2015)

I would say 'pick you favorite animal' and go with that. Of course, feel free to pick something that isn't a canine or feline. Originality is sexy in general.


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## SkyboundTerror (Mar 20, 2015)

I've said this a few times before in different threads, but anyway, I didn't choose a dragon because it's what I felt fit me most. I chose a dragon because that's how my friends perceived me. I figured it'd be best to go with that. When I first met my friends, I was anti-social, intimidating, uninterested, big, moody, loud, dominating, and hungry/greedy - all fitting for a dragon, all bad traits. That was how they felt I was when they approached me in a private setting. I don't give the best first impressions, eheh, but in all honesty, it was a mask I wore to keep friendships at a minimum for... reasons. 

I do have a dragon obsession, but not because I feel connected to them or any of that nonsense.

If I had chosen my fursona based on my actual personality, it would have most likely been a bird (penguin), werewolf, or a lion. If I had gone for a favorite animal, I'd have made my 'sona a type of iguana or monitor lizard. But the western dragon stole the cake and ate it because others kept calling him monstrous.


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## Duality Jack (Mar 20, 2015)

I just write a short story about something cool, and get a drawing made of a dude in it.
Or I lift him off of one of my DND (or more likely savage worlds) player sheets.


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## Nataku (Mar 20, 2015)

I have three 'sonas. One of them has not changed..... ever. That's the dragon you see in my avatar. It was my 'imaginary friend' for as long as I can remember - eventually I came to realize that an imaginary friend is just another part of you that you're talking with for entertainment. So, my imaginary friend was my fursona. She's probably not a good example for this topic because she always 'was'. No thought or inspiration required.

Before I came to that conclusion, I had another 'sona - she's still with me too. That's my irish setter. Why an irish setter? Because my parents used to professionally breed and show irish setters. I used to sleep in a whelping box with them. I had a piece of rope I tied around my waist as a kid so I could have my tail like the other setters. Originally she was a blond irish setter - because I was blond. But as I grew, she turned red like a normal irish setter and became more spikey and less friendly. She's a character that grew with me. I got older and meaner, and so did she. There are some inherent dangers to that though - as you can eventually end up with a 'sona so twisted and pieces and parts of everything that its hard to define what they are. I like the idea of 'sonas that grow with people, one just has to be careful what attributes also make it to their 'sona without going too far overboard.

As another person mentioned above - it can often be hard to pick a species by yourself because you view so many different factors of yourself at once. Certainly I know this well - I have three sonas, a dragon, a dog and a bird/cat hybrid. Talk about too many traits. 
There are several solutions to this however. 

First, one can look to others about their own input as to what they view you as, or like. Example - I am Native American (amongst a host of other things, yay for being an American Mutt!) it is traditional in the tribe I am part of to be given a traditional name by the chief or a tribal elder. Now, the chief had no idea I am a furry, let alone what species my sona(s) are. I was given the name Medicine Skunk. Why is that, I asked. 'Medicine' because I happen to work in the medical field, and had already ended up treating multiple injuries/issues on the rez. 'Skunk' because I apparently gave off an air of acting like one. A skunk had never been an animal I had really researched before that - so I wasn't sure if they meant I smelled badly or what. No, it turned out they meant it was because a skunk doesn't come across as dangerous to other animals - its not a predator like a wolf, or a bear. But its still not something anyone in their right mind wants to mess with. It walks about with an air of confidence - it is not a killer, but it can make you suffer immensely if you should antagonize it.
I found it very interesting that other people saw me as such, as it had not been an animal I had ever considered for myself, but it really made sense the more I researched them. Guess sometimes outside help is good? 

If you haven't got a tribe handy, then just try asking your friends. Even if you aren't asking them about animals specifically, ask them to list some traits about you. A group of friends and I did a round robin one night where we each wrote three things about each other person that was there, all on separate little sheets of paper (with the name of the person it was written for written on it too) - and it all went in a jar and got mixed up. Everyone then took turns pulling papers and reading whatever it said on it to the group - but not the name. The rest of the group then had to guess who that paper was written for. It providing for quite an interesting feedback session about what various people all thought about each other. Some people ended up with same trait written about them by multiple people (ie stubborn, air-headed, prankster, etc) so one could certainly assume these are traits that you strongly express. These traits could then be used to help you narrow doen your hunt for a species.

Also, try just going with an animal you really like and see what happens. I chose an Irish setter because I liked them and hung around them a lot as a kid. Not because I shared any real particular traits or likeness to them - my hair wasn't red, I wasn't good hunter, wasn't a happy-go-lucky goof ball, I wasn't a fast runner, I wasn't well-proportioned and I certainly don't qualify as 'beautiful' like they do in the dog world. But there have been plenty of people who have sonas whose personalities (and even appearance) do not match that of their chosen species. How many happy, super-friendly and out going, huggy, noisy wolves have you met? You know a real wolf has none of those traits. But these are fursonas, it doesn't have to align specifically with the traits of the real animal.

On uniqueness and personal identity - you likely won't end up with both, but that's not neccessarily a bad thing. The reason the vast majority of furries are the species they are (canines and felines) is because these are animals which humans are most well acquainted with and thereby feel the most comfortable and 'connected' to. Its not surprising these are the most popular choices because of this. Most people had, or knew someone who had, a dog or a cat growing up. Most people didn't have a shark growing up and that's probably a good part of why they aren't as common. I've always dreamed of a social experiment where we introduced an 'unusual' animal into households as pets - like say a rat, and then in twenty or thirty years came back and asked those new generations of furries who have now grown up in the households where a rat was just as much a common pet as a dog or a cat, how many of them would now say their species was a rat or some kind of rodent? I bet it'd be a significant increase over the current percentage.
But really, if you want something unique - stay away from anything canine or feline, as its all been done before. There are many other families of animals that have many choices available that are often largely ignored - like birds, and aquatic life in general. Want to keep it in the mammals? Consider whether or not you feel the need to be in the carnivore order or not. Carnivores are much more common than herbivores or omnivores - this is likely, again, due to the vast numbers of canines and felines in the fandom.


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