Was that the right word?

Anyhoo,  Mocha_Mephooki posted a rather provocative submissionjournal thing very recently. All two of you reading this, go check it out.

Reading it got me thinking. Why am I here, in this fandom, with this character, etc. Well, the answer's pretty simple. It's fun.

A lot of people take their character(s) as an extension of themselves, often as a projection of what they want to / wish they could be. This can be mild, from basically a direct copy of the physical person with a little minor tweaks, to heavy, like your seven-cocked sparkledogdragonvixen2000 limited editions. I hold no issue with this, as it's often just in the name of fun and/or fapping. This is basically where I am with my Ryo, who I more or less look like, but with slightly more hair. Maybe when I feel quasi-comfortable with it, I'll post a picture, but honestly it's not THAT hard to find one of me, if you know what you're doing.

Most people don't know this (including my sweet, loving girlfriend), but I have a second character I toy around with, a pudgy busty technophile vixen with a penchant for kink. I'll drop a name if prodded, but it's honestly not important enough to note. Again, she's there for fun, and I hardly have myself deluded into thinking I'm her.

On that last note, I know many a furre that identify as their character, on a deeper level. Again, I'm fine with that. It's when they think full-on that they ARE that character that I start being concerned. It's the start of a slippery slope, and the bottom of that slope can be quite dark. Some people end up idolizing their own character in an antagonistic way, berating themselves for not being as great and wonderful and whatnot as them. In extreme cases, it leads to physical harm. I've seen it, it's not pretty.

What's potentially just as damaging but seems far less a threat from an outside observer is classical furry drama. Roleplaying can be fun, and dramatic roleplaying can be a great mental and literary exercise, but at the end of the day, drama is drama. If you have difficulty handling it in real life, you may be better off not pretending it. I've seen in this fandom, specifically the online sector due largely to the double-ended veil of anonymity that fursonas and regular internet anonymity provide, people reduced to tears, cutting themselves, all sorts of horrible things. Because of little characters that exist in their heads and in art and text.

Whoever actually ends up reading this, feel free to agree or disagree. I'd prefer if you not try changing my opinion, because, well, you won't. If you happen to be one of the people I mentioned in the latter part of this journal, step away from the computer and go explore yourself for a few days. Improving yourself is easier than you think.