Furries, Ponysonas, and Alter-Ego Acting: How much do you treat them as real?

[Will Guide 21,360]

First of all, some background if you want to read in detail what Alter-Ego Acting is according to TV Tropes:

Spoiler

It can be said that some roles take on a life of their own, separate from the actor that plays them.  Leonard Nimoy was so eclipsed by his character in Star Trek that he titled his autobiographies I Am Not Spock and (once he'd made his peace with it) I Am Spock respectively. However, some actors not only allow the character this existence, they actively cultivate them as a persona as real as any other person walking around. This is usually done in one of a couple of ways.

The first way is to portray the individual as an entirely separate person, while acknowledging the existence of the actor. The character may refer to the actor in the third person, or vice versa.

The second version is to entirely subsume the "real" actor in the role. In this case, the actor is never mentioned by the character and the actor almost never appears in "public".

The third method is when the actor acknowledges the character is "them", but somehow a "different" them. This is the least frequently seen, most subtle version, and the mechanism of this change in personality is not consistent, further making it more difficult to recognize.

TL:DR: Alter-ego acting is when you start treating like the Character you play as could be its own character in several different degrees of how real is the Character?

Now, a better explanation of what my topic has to do with Furries and Alter-Ego acting:

Now, according to an article about Alter-Ego Acting on TV Tropes that talks about Furries, it said, Members of the Furry Fandom vary wildly on how they apply this trope to themselves and their characters, with some considering themselves and their characters to be entirely separate and never referring to themselves as their character in real life (unless wearing a fursuit or other costume); some viewing their characters as real people whom they "channel", speaking of them in third person and slipping in and out-of-character in public; some refusing to answer to any name but their furry name (further complicated by people who get their names legally changed, not all of whom believe their furry self to be real or separate from themselves); and some not even having a "fursona", just an online handle. But in general most furries are of the Type 3 variety, acknowledging or even proudly admitting that their fursona is just like real life, only with animal features (or a different body type), with very different fursonas either being a challenging exercise in roleplaying or indulging in wish fulfillment about their ideal self.

Now For what I expect from you and why I'm doing this poll:

I want any and all Furries and those with ponysonas to vote on what type of person do you see your Fursona and such? Do you keep your Fursona and Real Life self separate? Do you treat it real when you're in costume? Or are you a Furry who doesn't have a Fursona and just use a name as an online handle? Just vote for the options that best fits your view of you and your Fursona/Ponysona? If you can't find the poll option you want to say, let me know in a post here I want to know how many people see their Fursonas one way or another. And if you wish to give a specific answer, go ahead and post it.

AS FOR ME:

I have two Ponysonas: Unicorn Will Guide and Changeling Will Guide.

Unicorn Will Guide is my main Ponysona. Whenever I'm "in Equestria" I'm this red Unicorn with a talent for telling Disney Stories with my Unique Disney Magic. I do try to keep him separate from my real life most of the time.

Changeling Will Guide is a 2nd soul that can only exists in Equestria. When he died in my arms in the Everfree Forest right before I would lose all memories of him for some time, his soul became a part of me and so he exists by sharing my unicorn body. I see him as real in Equestria and would channel him from time to time when I'm talking about my "experiences in Equestria"

Since we share our body and mind like a car, whoever you see on the outside is the current "driver", either me as Unicorn Will or him as Changeling Will, while the other soul is like a passenger in the "backseat" of our mind. The Backseat passenger can experience everything the "driver" is experiencing; they're just not in direct control. I usually use a Magic Mirror from the Beauty and the Beast world to show whoever's in the backseat when both of us want to talk to the ponies around us. 

Well, that's my Ponysonas; What about you guys?

Edited December 30, 2017 by WiiGuy2014
My Answer

[JonasDarkmane 19,785]

I do have a Ponysona that I created, but it is completely separated from me, as I stopped giving attention to him. 

His name was Scribere Iceberg and was supposed to be a reflection of myself, but then I lost interest as I did not see the point of going about with a ponysona :T 

By Rikifive

 

But yeah, there is that. 

[Techno Universal 2,575]

Yeah honestly I imagine my ponysona Techno as myself in the near future! So he's basically my future form in a way! Plus he also now wears a massive cape!  

[Scrubbed user 3,416]

I am exactly the same online as I am in real life.

[Lunar Echo 10,335]

I just go with the flow, whatever seems the most of interest and fun in the moment to me and my mood is also a big factor. I'd not consider myself a furry either, I don't cosplay, I don't roleplay as a particular character I made up but I will take traits from characters/people I've met and liked and incorporate it into my overall self. The only exception I'd make is if I found a partner and they were into the furry fandom then I'd be persuaded to partake in events and such with her in costume, I'm not 100% so it's sorta an uncertainty for me.

[Libra 11,691]

I actually talked to a furry about this last week.

in my theory, it allows people to express themselves in ways that they cant otherwise. Essentially, people dont look at furries and ponysonas. Its going into two different versions of the person. Now, i am no where near smart enough to understand the psychology of that, but essentially it lets people shrug off their own personalities to be comfortable with new ones.

As for me, im different then i act in real life. I dont have any fear of going against an estabolished opinion, should i chooss to go against it. Im more approachable, and sometimes confrontational.

in real life, however i'm basically a socially anxious dude who just want to get from point A to point B without being noticed. The sonas are just masks people feel comfortable wearing.

[Thuja 3,659]

I chose, "I'm a furry but I don't have a fursona", but I actually do have a fursona.  The thing is, I don't interact with anybody with him and I barely have a concept down of him.  I've tried drawing him but I still suck at drawing furries, so he looked awful.  I also have a hard time choosing whether he's a deer or a jackalope most of the time, I'd rather he be one or the other not both.  I guess he's more of a concept than an actual character?

[Toastypk 923]

I designed a ponyself for myself, but I don't really call him an OC, and I don't really have a name, it would just be me in pony form.

Sometimes I picture "me" with another character I like or a situation but it's nothing meant to be serious.

[Twisted Cyclone 🚓 6,260]

Twisted Cyclone is a reflection of who I am in real life. His interests are the same as my interests. The personality is the same. Heck, his 3 colors (Blue, brown, and green) are my 3 favorite colors.

[Le Trotteur Sauvage 13,051]

My Fursona is completely separate from my real life, I don't do costume and don't really use it outside of forum...
They're real, they're here somewhere in my head but...I chose to let them in the dark 

[Widdershins 9,960]

 ... Not sure what you mean?...... 

Me & my draconequus are one and the same... and worlds apart. It is my belief that when you write a story & especially a character, you bleed into it. It becomes something only your hand, life and the time you wrote it could have forged. Like creating a new dimension of possibilities. "... and unto each author, a god unknowing." 

 Besides, it's his/its whole shtick. He is I because he knows I made him & I am he because of what he means to me. 

 Representative characters are What Ifs, a snapshot of being welded by wish. 

 But hey, I'm schizophrenic. Take me at your own risk!

 May sound mad, but I do somehow plan on turning into him. Not by the same routes, but... still frightening nonetheless!

 

 ... and.... @Wholly Windcharger?… I think you're trying to find the concept of a "Tulpa." A topic I still have yet to research..... not that your Friendly Neighborhood Eldritch Aberration is leading you down any fresh Rabbit Holes!

 ... but we are good at that. Spirit of Confusion, baby!

[Double Clutch 435]

"To be the pony I wanna be...."   When in doubt, I ask what my OC would do.  Helps me try to be a better person.

Edited July 7, 2018 by Double Clutch

[The Kaeya Simp 13,989]

I identify more as my ponysona than my IRL self actually

[Envy 6,169]

My pony version of me I made was never supposed to be anything like a 'fursona'. It's just that I liked MLP:FiM and thought the characters were cute. When Pony Creator came out, I made one of me. I'll do this in pretty much anything. FiM just happened to have ponies instead of humans and I didn't really care.

[J.J 923]

I have OC's but am not an avid Rper, I am universally on a take on life that everything is kind of a "in the eye of" type thing, many peoples jobs, lives, perspectives are of little importance to others, universally. When involved with the "mlp community"(not directly associated with the furry community, just related) it's a commune around something that actually matters to multiple individuals, and is influential to our personality and indirectly perspective on things, it's the happiest part of my life, i just dont have many friends.

[Twisted Cyclone 🚓 6,260]

My ponysona is just me as a pony. He has the same personality, interests, hobbies etc.

[Stardust 641]

I have several fursonas they are not me as such but characters I can explore more deeply I guess. As well as just many ocs.  They sometimes feel kinda real in my imagination.

I dunno if I would ever wanna fursuit.

Maybe half costume or cosplay. But I never been that into dressing up. Also if you cover your face it makes it hard to talk to others or be yourself. Plus fursuits (at least conventional ones) are a little creepy tbh as well as expensive, people get dissimive of cheap suits and snooty. And the fact I have many sonas ya know. I am into the art and the world more. I would like to explore more worldbuilding and that. I need to be able to change things up all the time and not always be the same character, even if that may seem a little strange to some.

[Adorable Lovestar 243]

My "ponysona" represents who I want to be. We even share the same name. So, they're pretty real to me, I guess?

[Pastel Heart 6,466]

The way I see it, me, my fursona and my ponysona are all one and the same!

[Savy 5,078]

Well, for me, my Ponysona and my Fursona are who I want to be, basically.

Edited July 23, 2020 by CookieCakes

[Will Guide 21,360]

Wow, nice to see this topic getting some love again

[Splashee 28,564]

I don't have a fursona. Reason: not a furry yet 

[Early Sunsets 2,107]

My sonas are based heavily off of myself (albeit better in every way), so I guess you could say I constantly act like them, more or less.

[Dreambiscuit 9,873]

I think most OCs or furrysonas are a reflection of what its creator is and what they aspire to be. In my case I have my ponysona that I use for my avatar but I don’t imbue it with much content as far as personality beyond my own. She doesn’t really have a backstory; just a sense of style and general personality in stride with my personal tastes and sensibilities.

[Ittoni 538]

Mine is like an idealized version of myself. I mean, my main ponysona is a changeling so this whole thing about acting like someone else or deceiving and having identity issues fits very well for me. As a changeling they are pretty much me if i were more confident and less fearful of what others think of me. And from there they can just transform into other ponies or creatures which are mostly different aspects of myself. One of the pony transformations is just me as I am, shy and quiet, to sorta put myself in the pony world. maybe even imagine myself as someone like fluttershy and how would that be if I were a character in the show.

Edited July 25, 2020 by Ittoni