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Why isn't Ruffle a Dutchie?
9 years ago
General
Well, my friend, that is an interesting question, isn't it.
Many people look at Ruffle's anatomy and see a striking resemblance to that of a Dutchie. As a matter of fact, if you were to slap a pair of wings on that sucker, he would be as good as Telephone!
So why is he different? Why doesn't this dragon have wings?
Ruffle was designed in the summer of 2016 by my good friend,
Wolfy_V When I commissioned her to make my fursona, I gave her no guidelines whatsoever. She had complete and utter artistic freedom to build as she wished. As a matter of fact, the only input I provided her when I paid her was that I wanted his name to be Ruffle. As a matter of fact, I expected a wolf to come out of the doodling. Instead, I was delighted to receive a colorful fluffy dragon! The only thing I didn't understand is why he didn't have wings. (I'll return to that later) But I didn't bother asking. I was just so jazzed about having my own character. He was mine. All mine. And I loved him to death. Then, I came across a small community called the Dutch Angel Dragons. (okay. not so small. xD) I was enthralled. Reading the lore on them filled me with delight! Mythical dragons who fell from grace- So Cool. Plus, they had Telephone- one of the coolest fursuiters I'd ever seen. As I read up on the species rules and regulations, I noticed (as you probably have) that Ruffle was almost perfectly aligned with the requirements of the categorization of Dutch Angel Dragons. Starstruck, I turned to Wolfy and asked her- Why didn't she make Ruffle a dutchie?
Her answer? "There are too many rules and regulations controlling the species"
But Why? He is practically a Dutchie already?
I brought this up gently, and she said "Well, I could put some wings on him, if you'd like."
But I was afraid I'd hurt her feelings. After all, she had designed this character for me as a friend. Encapsulated in the design were her thoughts about me as a person. Was I going to tell her that her artistic vision was wrong?
So I said nothing.
Perhaps a few weeks later, I saw a friend,
KittyWay doing a freebie YCH called "The leaning tower of dutchies". I wanted in. Free Art, right? So I asked him if I could have a spot, even though Ruffle wasn't technically a DAD. He said no to that, but that he had something special in store for me.
That picture is right here. More details of that encounter are in the description of his post, which is linked in my post.
That subdued a little bit of the want to change Ruffle. At least it did until I met
RachelleFluffy After hanging out with her for awhile, I thought "Wow. Dutchies are still really cool. I kind of want Ruffle to be one." And She agreed. Thus, This Picture and This Picture were born. At the time, I loved it. Ruffle was cool. He fit in with the cool kids. Ruffle was a DUTCHIE.
But after time, it kind of sunk in that this community was cool. But also over-saturated. Additionally, while I adored characters like Dew and Telephone, people treated them basically as Gods. I also encountered several Dutchies who were cynical and even critical of any furs who weren't Dutchies. This kind of changed my perspective once more. While I do adore Dutchies still, Ruffle wasn't one. Like me in real life, he doesn't exactly fit. He is kinda like an M&M in a bag of skittles- he looks similar, but he doesn't fit. And that is okay.
As a matter of fact, I think it adds to his character significantly. Ruffle is fascinated by flight. Birds, planes, and even other dutchies are marvels to him. He recognizes that he doesn't have wings, but optimistically attempts anyways to find a way into the sky. (As a matter of fact, Mom is currently working on a piece depicting one of these shenanigans. I'll link that here when it comes out!)
My point is: Diversity strengthens any and all cultures. Being different is okay. If you walk to a different cadence than those around you, it is all right. Be you. Be unique. And stay true to your character. It may surprise you what potential awaits you if you aren't afraid to stand out from the crowd.
..... Oh Right!
The reason Ruffle doesn't have any wings?
Wolfy later told me that she simply forgot them. She noticed it later when looking at the reference sheet and just decided to roll with it. But because of this simple mistake, Ruffle has become a character I cherish for both his awesome colors and his uniqueness.
Stay awesome you furs!
-Kev
