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"Why is your fursona always casted?"
7 years ago
General
First and foremost before getting into the meat of the journal here, just wanted to say as I hadn't brought up the fluffballs in a while, lol, they're both doing great, classes have been a mixed success as far as any actual training? But it's been good seeing them interact and such with other dogs
Previously Masha had always barked and barked at other dogs, trying to get their attention or to play with her or whatnot, but she's slowly but surely calming down a little and its been a real relief seeing her have some real progress =B Although honestly, Wally's the one who's been learning better from the actual lessons, lol
It caused a lot of hassle the first few sessions, since neither of them knew anything about playing with dog toys or such, neither of them were at all interested in the dog toys with treats inside as a distraction or learning tool, and both of them were turning their noses up at the treats given by the classes themselves
Subsequently we had to try different options and ended up going to the classes with like a tub of lil cheese squares we'd cut up instead to treat them with?
As a result, other folks dogs have been ignoring their owners and keep looking over at me and Jeri whenever we give Masha or Wally treats, lol
So yeah, all in all, still goes well, the dogs have been a lil out of sorts with the weather rattling away at the place, and more than once I've found the pair hiding away at the fallout shelter and ended up spending time with them in there just to keep them company =B
NOW
On to the main course here, this is a rather random topic, but, one that's important to me and I wanted to make a journal about it while words are in my head to stamp down on page
I often get a lot of questions when folks meet me or my characters for the first time and ask about the whole broken bones and casts and whatnot =o Often people will take the explanation about my condition and take that as face value quickly enough
However, recently stuff's gotten a bit muddier
I remember a lot of people who met my characters and thought it was a fetish of some sort (turns out of course there IS a cast fetish, abasophilia?) and when I'd explain, people would often wonder why I portrayed my character this way
Think about it, we make our fursonas to fulfill fantasies, to be the ideal versions of ourselves and just plain be awesome fur folks
If I really wanted, why don't I have my fursona have an adamantium skeleton and being super athletic?
Then I read an article today on the most recent Doctor Who episode and something clicked
(New Doc is an awesome lady, digging her outfit by the by <3)
I'm still jury out on the new season of the show and the new crew and whatnot, especially since we've not even seen the new title screen yet!
But slight spoiler aside, one of the new assistants on the show is a guy called Ryan who has Dyspraxia, which effects some of his motor skills, mainly around the fact he can't ride a bike and is shown back and forth through the episode struggling and failing to do so, even at the end of the episode not being able to manage it even as he tries to do it for someone special
And, thinking on observation and people's feelings, what was the best outcome of that idea
In a general Hollywood style treatment, isn't the typical wish we have to want to see Ryan achieve his goal and manage it?
And why do I feel better that in the end he didn't manage it?
It's a similar feeling I've seen before in myself in stuff like the My Little Pony movie with the character Tempest Storm, a Unicorn with a broken horn who seeks to have herself restored, but in the end of the movie, laments it's still broken
Instead then, Twilight comments on Tempest's abilities and how she should focus on what she has already achieved and is capable of
Resulting in the screenshot that launched a thousand ships...
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SAbC2-LNTig/.....resdefault.jpg
(Incidental title incidental)
ANYHOW
Yes, so, movie ends, but in a world of magic and powers, Tempest isn't restored, she's still her as she is and will continue to struggle with the fact her magic will never be fully whole
It's there, somewhere in there, the idea that Tempest, or Ryan or me have problems that we can't just overcome magically, that there's no wave of a wand that dismisses our problems and we struggle daily with it on different levels
Would it be more satisfying to not have those difficulties and live a life with a far better quality? Darn likely, but, how does it feel for other people with disabilities or conditions who see these characters and see that kind of resolution that ignores the things that effect them most?
I think that it's important to have characters like Tempest or Ryan or Hiccup even - still love that ending to HtTYD 1 <3 - that show people who live with disabilities can be represented and have that part of them be present, that they still struggle, and will always continue to struggle: that while they will never fully overcome their shortcomings because of their conditions, but instead still find ways to function and participate as much in the story
I think a little part of that existed somewhere in me before but I never really knew how to express it before, that it's important to me that my fursona has my same shortcomings - heck, she even gained sympathy weight with me, lol - and that she shows off her battle scars proudly because they're a part of who she is
My casts and broken bones don't define me, but they're certainly a part of me and many other folks with osteoporosis who live with the condition to many varying degrees, there's no overnight fix and seeing that in other characters means a lot to me
So, by extension, it's certainly not something that'll change any time with Jasmine
Whatever shape or form my fursona takes over time, you can bet Jasmine will always be rocking the latest of (Plaster of) Paris fashion, lol
Previously Masha had always barked and barked at other dogs, trying to get their attention or to play with her or whatnot, but she's slowly but surely calming down a little and its been a real relief seeing her have some real progress =B Although honestly, Wally's the one who's been learning better from the actual lessons, lol
It caused a lot of hassle the first few sessions, since neither of them knew anything about playing with dog toys or such, neither of them were at all interested in the dog toys with treats inside as a distraction or learning tool, and both of them were turning their noses up at the treats given by the classes themselves
Subsequently we had to try different options and ended up going to the classes with like a tub of lil cheese squares we'd cut up instead to treat them with?
As a result, other folks dogs have been ignoring their owners and keep looking over at me and Jeri whenever we give Masha or Wally treats, lol
So yeah, all in all, still goes well, the dogs have been a lil out of sorts with the weather rattling away at the place, and more than once I've found the pair hiding away at the fallout shelter and ended up spending time with them in there just to keep them company =B
NOW
On to the main course here, this is a rather random topic, but, one that's important to me and I wanted to make a journal about it while words are in my head to stamp down on page
I often get a lot of questions when folks meet me or my characters for the first time and ask about the whole broken bones and casts and whatnot =o Often people will take the explanation about my condition and take that as face value quickly enough
However, recently stuff's gotten a bit muddier
I remember a lot of people who met my characters and thought it was a fetish of some sort (turns out of course there IS a cast fetish, abasophilia?) and when I'd explain, people would often wonder why I portrayed my character this way
Think about it, we make our fursonas to fulfill fantasies, to be the ideal versions of ourselves and just plain be awesome fur folks
If I really wanted, why don't I have my fursona have an adamantium skeleton and being super athletic?
Then I read an article today on the most recent Doctor Who episode and something clicked
(New Doc is an awesome lady, digging her outfit by the by <3)
I'm still jury out on the new season of the show and the new crew and whatnot, especially since we've not even seen the new title screen yet!
But slight spoiler aside, one of the new assistants on the show is a guy called Ryan who has Dyspraxia, which effects some of his motor skills, mainly around the fact he can't ride a bike and is shown back and forth through the episode struggling and failing to do so, even at the end of the episode not being able to manage it even as he tries to do it for someone special
And, thinking on observation and people's feelings, what was the best outcome of that idea
In a general Hollywood style treatment, isn't the typical wish we have to want to see Ryan achieve his goal and manage it?
And why do I feel better that in the end he didn't manage it?
It's a similar feeling I've seen before in myself in stuff like the My Little Pony movie with the character Tempest Storm, a Unicorn with a broken horn who seeks to have herself restored, but in the end of the movie, laments it's still broken
Instead then, Twilight comments on Tempest's abilities and how she should focus on what she has already achieved and is capable of
Resulting in the screenshot that launched a thousand ships...
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SAbC2-LNTig/.....resdefault.jpg
(Incidental title incidental)
ANYHOW
Yes, so, movie ends, but in a world of magic and powers, Tempest isn't restored, she's still her as she is and will continue to struggle with the fact her magic will never be fully whole
It's there, somewhere in there, the idea that Tempest, or Ryan or me have problems that we can't just overcome magically, that there's no wave of a wand that dismisses our problems and we struggle daily with it on different levels
Would it be more satisfying to not have those difficulties and live a life with a far better quality? Darn likely, but, how does it feel for other people with disabilities or conditions who see these characters and see that kind of resolution that ignores the things that effect them most?
I think that it's important to have characters like Tempest or Ryan or Hiccup even - still love that ending to HtTYD 1 <3 - that show people who live with disabilities can be represented and have that part of them be present, that they still struggle, and will always continue to struggle: that while they will never fully overcome their shortcomings because of their conditions, but instead still find ways to function and participate as much in the story
I think a little part of that existed somewhere in me before but I never really knew how to express it before, that it's important to me that my fursona has my same shortcomings - heck, she even gained sympathy weight with me, lol - and that she shows off her battle scars proudly because they're a part of who she is
My casts and broken bones don't define me, but they're certainly a part of me and many other folks with osteoporosis who live with the condition to many varying degrees, there's no overnight fix and seeing that in other characters means a lot to me
So, by extension, it's certainly not something that'll change any time with Jasmine
Whatever shape or form my fursona takes over time, you can bet Jasmine will always be rocking the latest of (Plaster of) Paris fashion, lol
By the same token, I'd imagine you have a choice few words to speak about the whole "The wheelchair-bound character rises to walk at a climactic moment" cliche?
AND GODDAMNIT, EXACTLY
Like, you remember I was a big fan of Redwall? I remember one of the books I read then never picked up ever again involving a Hare who was stuck in a wheelchair and they sent off a team of adventurers to the older abbey grounds to investigate tales of a Sister in a similar predicament who was able to walk again, searching for some sort of remedy
AND OF COURSE
1) The hare sees vermin about to attack one of the infirmary staff and gets up just in time to shove the vermin out the window, problem solved
2) Near everyone on the expedition dies, which kind of makes their sacrifice irrelevant since she just fixed herself up
3) The 'cure' was that the sister in the wheelchair got stuck in a cave filled with dead creatures and had to find 'the willpower' to get up and walk to escape
JUST.
Graagahegdgehajfjahbeh
=_=;;;; Yeah, me and that trope do not mix well, lol
Aahaha...casted...hurhur she casts a lot...ahh look a door I'll let myself out xD
I remember someone hated Iron Man 3 from my friend circle because of how it seemed Tony Stark magically got over his PTSD from the start of the movie with no real indicator of how he'd resolved his issues and whatnot
Also *hug* we love you and your sona, flaws and all =3
Also, I only have vague memories of Iron Man 3. I remember the first one pretty well though. :3
Flattery gets you nowhere, lol
That made more sense in my head but Im sticking with it
Certainly as far as 'interesting', conflict is a driving force in stories and the problems characters face are some of the biggest selling points of making a story interesting to read about, as far as real life, I think the most I can say on me and interesting is that at least my casts make good conversation starters whenever Jeri hauls me along to one of her social gatherings where I know like zero people, lol
But certainly fixing all the problems of a fictional character would be pretty dull.
There was a point where I filled out this character sheet that you're supposed to fill out with your OC's personality traits, both positive and negative, then calculate what their score is and what that says about them writing-wise. It's informed how I write characters to this day, as it teaches you to find balance in them, making sure they aren't too annoyingly flawed or too boringly perfect. Everyone's got something to overcome, like a disability or some personality trait, and I think that it would be ill-advised to fix what's intentionally broken if there's not another way to make them interesting.
Melody actually turned out good, and that's relevant to you~ Blindness is a thing that defines her and while she has found ways to overcome it thanks to Faith, I think about how to find stuff to do with her once she reaches that next step, like evolutions. She still has things to learn, whether it be "How can I see more clearly?" or "Why is my handwriting just the worst?" - there's a future where she has all her stuff figured out, but that's if I ever decide to "retire" her like I did when I felt like I did all I could with Henry. He's not around anymore BECAUSE I didn't have anything for him to work towards anymore.
Actually-- This is running long now. But there's a similar example of a Kamen Rider show that had issues in that regard, where a character was basically defined by the fact that she needed to be brought back to life... aaand once that got resolved very quickly, she became a part of the supporting cast and her biggest contribution was an occasional line of non-specific dialogue, while the other supporting cast had more distinct personalities and contributions to the plot. Tragic.
All that being said, persona characters are different since they tend to be less like characters, and more just... the person. To be honest, I find it pretty respectable when a persona more accurately represents its creator, body-wise and such. I don't wanna get TOO REAL here but there was a point when you gave your persona a thinner body, and you have changed that now, which I think is great. You're doing great and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
I'd be interested to peek at the character sheet and see what I could do with that for some of my own characters, or at least the ones who aren't just shades of me, lol, be handy to try and put my skills to some refining
D= Although I'm sad to say on your note of the Kamen Rider story that it is sadly very familiar and I've seen many characters fall into the same dumping ground of characters there within as well
And thanks, overall for the support, it's nice to hear that people like the 'new' me a little closer to who I am IRL, lol
So thanks Jazz.
Glad to hear you enjoy some!