After a crapton of thought, deliberation, and self-searching, I've decided that I'm retiring Jiroku as a fursona and Kijiro will be my sole sona going forward.

I've had Jiroku as a sona for 8 years. When I first created the Avali, he very well reflected me as a person. Fastforward 8 years and Jiro has become very different from his original incarnation: he is now an Avali Prime with lots more weight and a little more wisdom. It feels like Jiroku has gradually drifted more and more towards my ideal vision for him, and he has become this awesome (to me) character with pretty much a full arc and development. But he best serves as a character in a setting, and I realize that he has become less and less effective as a fursona, a representation of me, because he is now so focused on the fantastical and ideal rather than the real.

That's where Kijiro comes in. I find myself lately imagining myself as Kijiro in my mind's eye far more than Jiroku, because he better represents my real self, the day-to-day me. When I was 15 I wanted a sona that was the ideal, best me: what teenager doesn't? Now that I'm better-developed as a person, I want a sona that better reflects the real, current me, with some wishful thinking along the way. This is why Jiroku is passing the torch to Kijiro, for the latter better fills this niche. Kijiro is also much more roleplay-versatile, as I don't have as much of a specific developed backstory and setting for him as with Jiroku and Temril even earlier.

I think I've felt this way for some time actually, but the one remaining issue that was preventing me from swapping was not wanting to lose the fun, fantastical power fantasy side of Jiroku. For that, I've devised a new form for Kijiro that I'm calling the Passion Form, where he basically becomes a big Kijiro akin to big Jiro so I can still have fun in that front. Now, I finally don't really feel like I'm missing anything by confining Jiroku to the realm of OC's as I did with Temril prior.

I'm going to be gradually rebranding myself across websites to reflect this change, to the best of my ability and within reason. Rest assured that Jiroku is NOT being completely discarded, just relegated to secondary status as Kijiro becomes my only sona from here on out. In accordance with this, a new ref sheet of Kijiro is on the horizon (already commissioned prior), and I will likely use that opportunity to redesign him to better fit as my only fursona instead of a secondary one. Two pieces for Jiroku are also in the works, so you will get to see me better cement Avali Prime Jiroku a bit before Kijiro becomes the focus.

Some 7 years ago, I made a vow that I would remain an Avali, because I was stricken with grief at how I perceived others leaving the Avali community that I called my own. It is now time for me to break that vow and let go, just as I was able to let go of Tobi.