How to avoid snowflakism?

[d]

So the term "special snowflake" has become very popular on the internet, and in the fandom too... to the point that, when I make a fursona, I have a "criteria" I follow to avoid being a special snowflake:

1. Pick an actual human name. One that isn't only associated with one person (so, not Nefertari, Elvis, etc.). So, for a guy, I'd pick something like Mike, John, Rob, Matt, whatever. Or something maybe slightly more uncommon but not too unheard of.

*Note: a typical "pet name", like Rover for a dog fursona, could work too.

2. No neons. Look up natural color schemes of the species. If it only has one, and you don't wanna go albino, find a different way to differentiate other than fur/scale/feather/whatever color. Different height, body type, etc.

*Note: some furries who hate neons will like "natural-color" fursonas even if that color doesn't belong to that species... basically, stay within shades of brown, grey, black, white, tan, etc.

3. Normal number of body parts. One tail. Only more than 2 arms and 2 legs if the species calls for it (like an insect).

4. If piercings, either only do ones you have IRL (which, if you have weird ones, you're probably snowflake IRL too), or just simple ones like both ears on the lobes, a nose stud, eyebrow, etc. But it's preferable to do without, it seems (unless you have a piercing fetish).

5. This is the only one to not try to be too normal: species. It doesn't have to be fox, wolf, or dragon. But don't pick something TOO out there (or made-up) just for the hell of it. Some good ones that are sorta common but not overabundance are: tiger, horse, dogs without pointy ears, cats, whales, rabbits, etc.

6. No super-powers. Nothing too irregular. Make personality traits that actual humans have (or more animalistic if feral).

7. Both eyes the same color. And not yellow or purple or some weird shit. Brown or black are best bet. But hazel, green, or blue may work if not overly bright or doing it to over-compensate for wanting those colors IRL and not having them.

8. If hair, facial hair, body hair, whatever, make it "normal".

That's all I can think of for now.

Does this take some "fun" and "creativity" out of the fandom? Yes. But will it get you more respect in the long run? Yes. If you want to be seen as mature, follow these rules. :3

*Also, it makes it where if you get your character in porn, and you don't want people to know about your weird fetish, they may not know the character is yours if they've seen at least 10 other brown horses. But also, this is a double-edged sword because random underage users on F-list and Facebook will use the pics because of how generic they look.

Anyone have any rules to add?

[Sidewalk Surfboard]

17 minutes ago, d said:

7. Both eyes the same color. And not yellow or purple or some weird shit.

Wow, rude

[Hewge]

An average D's guide to never being above the rest: "How you can be underwhelming, too!" - Now in listing format.

[Recel]

9. You must learn what "special snowflake" defines before saying anything that isn't boring, average or natural is bad.

Just because some stupid people like to yell it at everything doesn't mean they are right.

[PastryOfApathy]

Just make an interesting looking character. Snowflakism isn't about 'having features x, y, or z', it's about overdoing it to a degree that screams "I suck at designing things so here's rainbow wolf with 10 tails, a million tattoos and 50 different dicks."

[Chrysocyon]

11 minutes ago, PastryOfApathy said:

Just make an interesting looking character. Snowflakism isn't about 'having features x, y, or z', it's about overdoing it to a degree that screams "I suck at designing things so here's rainbow wolf with 10 tails, a million tattoos and 50 different dicks."

[Rassah]

Is Rassah a human enough name? Cause I got a problem. I picked that as my furry name way back in '93, used it as my online nick to keep it separate from my real name and real world identity, kept using it on various social media like Reddit and forums, and ended up with Rassah being the name I am known by, including in business circles. Now I travel to business conferences, meet and talk with way high and sometimes famous people, and they all know me only by my furry name. They have no idea who I am if I tell them my real name, but everyone knows who I am if I say I'm Rassah

Edited January 1, 2016 by Rassah

[Nova]

So is are fursonas with super powers snowflakes.

Does mahou shoujo count.

[Vallium]

1. Mine is nicknamed Van, with the last thing Nyx. I wont go batshit on somebody who decided to name their fursona Eclipse Nightingale, it gets Snowflake-y if it like...say, Ebony Darkness Dementia Raven Way

2. This rule sucks. The reason I enjoy odd colored fursonas is it takes fantasy and applies them to the animal world. What if a dog existed with natural blue fur? Plenty of nice furs with colored fur, and yeah, its common...but snowflake does not mean "common", it just refers to trying too hard to the point of overkill.

Mine is mostly monochrome with one "neon" color accent. And I like it that way.

Colors can be nice and fun if they balance and follow color theory. And what looks good and what doesnt is always a matter of opinion.

3. Id count extra limbs here, including wings. So a wolf doesnt normally have wings...its really for fun, and based on numerous aspects and reasons of myself.

4. I had put piercings on mine I didnt have (yet, but really still dont). Its wish fulfillment, sue me. I do that a lot with my fursona...just not to an extreme degree like reaching perfection or something

5.People just pick wolf or fox because they like them, just happens that many others like them too. I used to feel I was the only wolf-obsessed person until the fandom. Picking an original species is nice, and often encouraged, but I wouldnt fault anyone for going with what they like.

I myself decided "hybrid" if that isnt snowflakey, but I find hybrids really interesting

6. Id raise an eyebrow if it had immortality, telekenisis, this, this, and that. Typically fursonas dont need powers unless theyre superheros in some world they were created for so I think that may be a special snowflake rule right there. Mine can fly, but thats consequence of being part avian

7. Yes heterochromia is common. No Im not offput by it in the right circumstances. Most people I have met have been good with keeping eyes the same color, though. As for needing it to be natural? No way...Id say even with a natural-colored furry eyes could be purple or orange. The eye color is fun to play with and does not determine special snowflake by itseld

 

8. I have no idea what would be 'abnormal' hair/facial hair. Ive seen the "happy trail" fur line on the bellies of lots of furs but that doesnt bother me. Facial hair is pretty uncommon too

TL;DR your rules are a little cut and dry. Its mostly about going with what you like while not going overboard, in the end it should not be the design itself but that the character is 'you'. And people will have shit opinions of your design anyways, regardless. If normal coloration is your thing then thats a-okay but not a big deal if odd-colors are uses.

[Vallium]

1 hour ago, Rassah said:

Is Rassah a human enough name? Cause I got a problem. I picked that as my furry name way back in '93, used it as my online nick to keep it separate from my real name and real world identity, kept using it on various social media like Reddit and forums, and ended up with Rassah being the name I am known by, including in business circles. Now I travel to business conferences, meet and talk with way high and sometimes famous people, and they all know me only by my furry name. They have no idea who I am if I tell them my real name, but everyone knows who I am if I say I'm Rassah

This is hilarious. Omg.

[DrDingo]

The rules aren't fixed. Many things on that list can be tasteful if worked well. But if your character has multiple from that list, you're trying so hard to be unique that the true character focus has been lost.

[DrDingo]

I'd challenge the rule about plain human first names. I know you're talking about names like 'Shadowblaze', but if you take a surname and use it as if it's a first name, you can get some pretty unique and not-too-shabby results.

Like Gibson, Kinross, Hargreaves, etc 

[Alexxx-Returns]

Who cares if a fursona is a special snowflake? If it makes them happy, just let them get on with it.

[Catilda Lily]

1. No.

2. I do what I want.

3. Why?

4. Don't tell me how to live my life!

5. People like different animals, they can pick what ever they want as their 'sona.

6. Again, why?

7. People in real life can have different colored eyes, animals in real life can have different colored eyes too.

8. Your normal, and someone else's normal could be completely different.

 

In the end it is up to the person creating their own 'sona, they can be as creative or natural as they please. People like different things, and shouldn't be worried about pleasing another person with their personal character design.

 

Edited January 1, 2016 by Catilda Lily
Weird spaces

[Zytan]

Nothing wrong with being a snowflake so long as you're not preaching how great your murrsona is; kinder like religion really.

[Bloodshot_Eyes]

OP's a fag. 

You're way too identified with the fandom if this affront to it has affronted you. 

Sparklefags gonna sparkle, and I'm too busy not giving a fuck to tell them they're wrong, or imply fursona guidelines should be maintained for "the good of the fandom" or whatever. It's a fandom of talking animal people; where do we arbitrarily place the line between real and fantasy when the whole thing's fantasy to begin with?

In closing, Op's a fag. This thread is dumb. I'm really tempted to make a 'sona that breaks ALL of these rules even though I myself prefer "realistic" looking furries. 

[Catilda Lily]

3 minutes ago, Bloodshot_Eyes said:

OP's a fag.

You're way too identified with the fandom if this affront to it has affronted you.

Sparklefags gonna sparkle, and I'm too busy not giving a fuck to tell them they're wrong, or imply fursona guidelines should be maintained for "the good of the fandom" or whatever. It's a fandom of talking animal people; where do we arbitrarily place the line between real and fantasy when the whole thing's fantasy to begin with?

In closing, Op's a fag. This thread is dumb. I'm really tempted to make a 'sona that breaks ALL of these rules even though I myself prefer "realistic" looking furries.

Do it, and name it d after the op.

[Muugu]

9 hours ago, d said:

4. If piercings, either only do ones you have IRL (which, if you have weird ones, you're probably snowflake IRL too), or just simple ones like both ears on the lobes, a nose stud, eyebrow, etc. But it's preferable to do without, it seems (unless you have a piercing fetish).

5. This is the only one to not try to be too normal: species. It doesn't have to be fox, wolf, or dragon. But don't pick something TOO out there (or made-up) just for the hell of it. Some good ones that are sorta common but not overabundance are: tiger, horse, dogs without pointy ears, cats, whales, rabbits, etc.

Anyone have any rules to add?

See this is where I disagree.

4. Why not give your sona more piercings than you IRL? If it looks normal on the sona then there's nothing wrong with it as far as I see. If you have a large eared species, nothing stopping you from adding few more to the ear as long as you keep it within sane limits. Nothing over flashy, but still adds something to the char.

 5. Some of my fave species are completely fictious, Nevreans for example. (Love them burds <3). So I'm just disagreeing with this point purely because they are cool and I want to see more of them around.

 

Oh and since fursonas are purely fictious anyway, who cares about eye color as some animals have really vibrant eyes.

Edited January 1, 2016 by Muugu

[Bloodshot_Eyes]

Just now, Catilda Lily said:

Do it, and name it d after the op.

• Name: D. McYiffbottom
• Species: fox
• sex: herm
• pronouns: s/he, hisher, and hisherself
• color scheme: covenant drop-ship purple, glowing lime green tummy and genitals, and phosphorescent blue accents that look like they have little runes on them even through the fur. left eye is brown, right eye looks like the Eye of Sauron. Oh, and leopard spots that glow a dark black! 
• features: horse cock with a knot (prehensile), fox dick for a clit, 3 tails, 8 boobs (2 D cups on top, 2 C, 2 B cups and the next row of nipples has barely an A cup), a braided goatee and a pencil thin mustache.
• piercings: Apadravya though the penis, 9 eyebrow rings (4 on the left, 5 on the right), one slightly off-centered lip ring, and a prince Albert though the clit
• abilities: can poop ice cream and pee hot cocoa, flies using tails as a propeller (Original concept, do not steal :V)
• Personality: D is just like any other herm with two penises. S/he goes to furry high school with hisher brother/lover where they take the same knot taking class. S/he's super shy until you get to know hisher, but once you do s/he's a total nympho and loves being the center of attention. 

Edited January 1, 2016 by Bloodshot_Eyes
do not steal :V

[Troj]

My characters all have different names, but for what it's worth, my nom-du-fur is "Troj" for a reason. In a word of Ravendark StormfireFoxes, my pseudonym is intentionally plain, simple, unpretentious, and easy to pronounce.

[Caledonian]

How to avoid snowflakism:

be boring.

 

[Misomie]

I once had a snowflake marking on my sona's back. It was both a nod to my love of winter and a joke about special snowflakes. I ended up deleting it though and instead gave her Frost as a last name (and ice powers but the whole species weilds magic now : P).

My only character that fits these guidelines to a T is Buster Buzz.

...Unless Honey Bees are considered special snowflakes... Are they? Am I forever doomed to make special snowflake sonas? D:

[Guest]

I don't know OP, the point of making a persona is making a creation you can identify yourself with. What I see here is you valuing the opinion of others over your preferences. Just do what you like man, in this case fuck other people's opinions, I'd say

Edited January 1, 2016 by Guest

[MuttButt]

I don't think anybody would bat an eye if your sona had one or even some of those features, especially if you make 'em work. Individually there is nothing inherently bad about "special snowflake" or "mary sue" traits. Think of them like seasonings, a dash here or there can really spice up an otherwise boring dish, but if you dump a pound of salt on your meal or use like a dozen different spices it's probably gonna get ruined.

Also, like almost everybody else has mentioned already, it's your fursona. Make it however you want. Ya shouldn't be too concerned about what others will think about it unless you're planning on putting it in some kind of animation or literary work or something.

[Aouzy]

No fun allowed. If your fursona isn't a feral grey wolf or red fox then you're obviously a snowflake.

[DrDingo]

My sona is so snowflake, he has no name

He's also a goggle wearing scientist in a bright orange shirt and a long draping red coat

But I think it's fun so I don't care

And neither should anyone else.

[MissFleece]

according to this I am a snowflake and everyone should appreciate how unique and different I am.

[Harbinger]

The fuck do you have against neon colours you fucking normie.

I love natural or down to earth colouration but also neons work pretty nice as long as they arent over used and are the only neon colour used, and just for small details.

 

[TheGreatFanatic]

17 hours ago, d said:

Normal number of body parts.

So five or seven?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quote

No neons.

"COULD I MAKE AN EXCEPTION?"

Edited January 2, 2016 by TheGreatFanatic

[d]

18 hours ago, Rassah said:

Is Rassah a human enough name? Cause I got a problem. I picked that as my furry name way back in '93, used it as my online nick to keep it separate from my real name and real world identity, kept using it on various social media like Reddit and forums, and ended up with Rassah being the name I am known by, including in business circles. Now I travel to business conferences, meet and talk with way high and sometimes famous people, and they all know me only by my furry name. They have no idea who I am if I tell them my real name, but everyone knows who I am if I say I'm Rassah

Daaaaaamn, you old! Seriously though, how old are you? I wasn't even walking yet in '93.

 

18 hours ago, Nova said:

So is are fursonas with super powers snowflakes.

Does mahou shoujo count.

What? Is English your first language? And yes, I just looked that up. It usually counts as snowflakism, unless the 'sona is part of a comic book or story focusing on a storyline like that.

 

16 hours ago, WolfNightV4X1 said:

1. Mine is nicknamed Van, with the last thing Nyx. I wont go batshit on somebody who decided to name their fursona Eclipse Nightingale, it gets Snowflake-y if it like...say, Ebony Darkness Dementia Raven Way

2. This rule sucks. The reason I enjoy odd colored fursonas is it takes fantasy and applies them to the animal world. What if a dog existed with natural blue fur? Plenty of nice furs with colored fur, and yeah, its common...but snowflake does not mean "common", it just refers to trying too hard to the point of overkill.

Mine is mostly monochrome with one "neon" color accent. And I like it that way.

Colors can be nice and fun if they balance and follow color theory. And what looks good and what doesnt is always a matter of opinion.

3. Id count extra limbs here, including wings. So a wolf doesnt normally have wings...its really for fun, and based on numerous aspects and reasons of myself.

4. I had put piercings on mine I didnt have (yet, but really still dont). Its wish fulfillment, sue me. I do that a lot with my fursona...just not to an extreme degree like reaching perfection or something

5.People just pick wolf or fox because they like them, just happens that many others like them too. I used to feel I was the only wolf-obsessed person until the fandom. Picking an original species is nice, and often encouraged, but I wouldnt fault anyone for going with what they like.

I myself decided "hybrid" if that isnt snowflakey, but I find hybrids really interesting

6. Id raise an eyebrow if it had immortality, telekenisis, this, this, and that. Typically fursonas dont need powers unless theyre superheros in some world they were created for so I think that may be a special snowflake rule right there. Mine can fly, but thats consequence of being part avian

7. Yes heterochromia is common. No Im not offput by it in the right circumstances. Most people I have met have been good with keeping eyes the same color, though. As for needing it to be natural? No way...Id say even with a natural-colored furry eyes could be purple or orange. The eye color is fun to play with and does not determine special snowflake by itseld

 

8. I have no idea what would be 'abnormal' hair/facial hair. Ive seen the "happy trail" fur line on the bellies of lots of furs but that doesnt bother me. Facial hair is pretty uncommon too

TL;DR your rules are a little cut and dry. Its mostly about going with what you like while not going overboard, in the end it should not be the design itself but that the character is 'you'. And people will have shit opinions of your design anyways, regardless. If normal coloration is your thing then thats a-okay but not a big deal if odd-colors are uses.

So basically, you break every rule. Nice.

Also, rule #8 refers to basically what would be considered immature or angsty teen phase IRL on humans. Like blue and green mohawks with rat tails.

 

11 hours ago, Bloodshot_Eyes said:

OP's a fag. 

You're way too identified with the fandom if this affront to it has affronted you. 

Sparklefags gonna sparkle, and I'm too busy not giving a fuck to tell them they're wrong, or imply fursona guidelines should be maintained for "the good of the fandom" or whatever. It's a fandom of talking animal people; where do we arbitrarily place the line between real and fantasy when the whole thing's fantasy to begin with?

In closing, Op's a fag. This thread is dumb. I'm really tempted to make a 'sona that breaks ALL of these rules even though I myself prefer "realistic" looking furries. 

And you're a butthurt hypocrite. :3 You say you like realistic ones, yet rag on me for just saying what I've been told time and time again... ha ha ha ha ha. Great.
Also, it looks like you chose to be anti-snowflake when you spit out the most commonly-used (and homophobic) insult you could think of. I feel like I'm talking to a 10-year-old on Xbox live. But, who am I to judge?

 

10 hours ago, Muugu said:

See this is where I disagree.

4. Why not give your sona more piercings than you IRL? If it looks normal on the sona then there's nothing wrong with it as far as I see. If you have a large eared species, nothing stopping you from adding few more to the ear as long as you keep it within sane limits. Nothing over flashy, but still adds something to the char.

 5. Some of my fave species are completely fictious, Nevreans for example. (Love them burds <3). So I'm just disagreeing with this point purely because they are cool and I want to see more of them around.

 

Oh and since fursonas are purely fictious anyway, who cares about eye color as some animals have really vibrant eyes.

I do agree on the last part. I forgot to mention- the eye color can be like orange or yellow if the species actually has eyes that color. But I've never seen purple eyes on anything. They just don't exist (and don't mention Elizabeth Taylor... hers were blue at best).

 

6 hours ago, Misomie said:

I once had a snowflake marking on my sona's back. It was both a nod to my love of winter and a joke about special snowflakes. I ended up deleting it though and instead gave her Frost as a last name (and ice powers but the whole species weilds magic now : P).

My only character that fits these guidelines to a T is Buster Buzz.

...Unless Honey Bees are considered special snowflakes... Are they? Am I forever doomed to make special snowflake sonas? D:

Nah, you're good. I've seen a few bees.

 

Anyway, I was just trying to help you guys out. I threw away a fursona due to shit like this. People kept saying he came across as immature due to the color scheme and whatnot. I'm just trying to please as many people as I can.

Which reminds me, I have a rule to add:

9. Don't be one of those like: "His fur pattern changes every hour/with his mood!". No. Keep it simple. If you want to change something, change clothing.

[Vallium]

40 minutes ago, d said:

Daaaaaamn, you old! Seriously though, how old are you? I wasn't even walking yet in '93.

 

What? Is English your first language? And yes, I just looked that up. It usually counts as snowflakism, unless the 'sona is part of a comic book or story focusing on a storyline like that.

 

So basically, you break every rule. Nice.

Also, rule #8 refers to basically what would be considered immature or angsty teen phase IRL on humans. Like blue and green mohawks with rat tails.

 

And you're a butthurt hypocrite. :3 You say you like realistic ones, yet rag on me for just saying what I've been told time and time again... ha ha ha ha ha. Great.
Also, it looks like you chose to be anti-snowflake when you spit out the most commonly-used (and homophobic) insult you could think of. I feel like I'm talking to a 10-year-old on Xbox live. But, who am I to judge?

 

I do agree on the last part. I forgot to mention- the eye color can be like orange or yellow if the species actually has eyes that color. But I've never seen purple eyes on anything. They just don't exist (and don't mention Elizabeth Taylor... hers were blue at best).

 

Nah, you're good. I've seen a few bees.

 

Anyway, I was just trying to help you guys out. I threw away a fursona due to shit like this. People kept saying he came across as immature due to the color scheme and whatnot. I'm just trying to please as many people as I can.

Which reminds me, I have a rule to add:

9. Don't be one of those like: "His fur pattern changes every hour/with his mood!". No. Keep it simple. If you want to change something, change clothing.

I am the specialest of snowflakes, all hail my glorious wingspan!

srsly tho, gr8 tr0ll 10/10

Edit: Also geee, what place were you shere people get up in your business over a character? Because here on this forum we have one or two super special snowflakes (Myself included probably) and no one give a rats ass because we're all just manchildren with a dumb hobby anyways

Edited January 2, 2016 by WolfNightV4X1

[Vallium]

Dear OP,

 

,

Sincerely,

The media

Edited January 2, 2016 by WolfNightV4X1

[Bloodshot_Eyes]

Just now, d said:

And you're a butthurt hypocrite. :3 You say you like realistic ones, yet rag on me for just saying what I've been told time and time again... ha ha ha ha ha. Great.

 I'm not butthurt, I said I personally prefer realistic ones, but it's not like I'm writing "How to Please the Furry fandom: A Guide to Fursona Creation". I just tend to gravitate to things I can feasibly imagine working mechanically; in other words "realistic". 

 

Quote

Also, it looks like you chose to be anti-snowflake when you spit out the most commonly-used (and homophobic) insult you could think of. I feel like I'm talking to a 10-year-old on Xbox live. But, who am I to judge?

Okay. 

[d]

32 minutes ago, WolfNightV4X1 said:

Dear OP,

 

,

Sincerely,

The media

Hellboy is not a furry. He's a superhero. They tend to look weird.

The thing from MLP (I forget his name) is from a cartoon that was aimed at 6-year-old girls that a buncha neckbeards began watching.

Lucario is a Pokemon. Those have no set formula.

Only one you got me at is the Na'vi, but that's not a furry fandom thing.

 

5 minutes ago, Bloodshot_Eyes said:

 I'm not butthurt, I said I personally prefer realistic ones, but it's not like I'm writing "How to Please the Furry fandom: A Guide to Fursona Creation". I just tend to gravitate to things I can feasibly imagine working mechanically; in other words "realistic". 

 

Okay. 

You couldn't come up with a proper reply, so... I win. :3

[Vallium]

1 minute ago, d said:

Hellboy is not a furry. He's a superhero. They tend to look weird.

The thing from MLP (I forget his name) is from a cartoon that was aimed at 6-year-old girls that a buncha neckbeards began watching.

Lucario is a Pokemon. Those have no set formula.

Only one you got me at is the Na'vi, but that's not a furry fandom thing.

 

You couldn't come up with a proper reply, so... I win. :3

"So the term "special snowflake" has become very popular on the internet, and in the fandom too... to the point that, when I make a fursona, I have a "criteria" I follow to avoid being a special snowflake:"

You opened up with special snowflakes in general, so I included generalized examples...which means you missed my point being that a character can be well-liked/successful despite being weirdly and intricately designed. Guess whos making money off of it?

 

 

....and if youre trying to win? Nobody cares. Seriously, you wrote us a set of commandments, who made you furry Jebus, that title belongs to @DevilishlyHandsome49

All of that is just really silly and you sound really pompous and super edgy for trying to be abovethe general furry populace

[Guest]

Honestly, I think OP is a troll. If you want my advice, don't waste time and energy on them

[Nova]

1 hour ago, Amiir said:

Honestly, I think OP is a troll. If you want my advice, don't waste time and energy on them

True, DONT FEED THE OP

[Caledonian]

OP I am sorry people critiqued your characters. you should be stronger than that though.
Don't be just another sheep in the flock.
Stand out, be free.
DO WHATEVERTHEDEVIL you want

[Caledonian]

6 hours ago, WolfNightV4X1 said:

Dear OP,

 

,

Sincerely,

The media

(those are a duck and a canary in case you couldn't see)

 

 

 

[Zeke]

Moral to OP's "Great Thread" is to be as bland as plain oatmeal. Diversity's for faggots.

[d]

2 hours ago, Zeke said:

Moral to OP's "Great Thread" is to be as bland as plain oatmeal. Diversity's for faggots.

It kind of is, though. =/ like, I notice gay people try purposely to stand out too much. When I look bland, people assume I'm straight.

[Pignog]

focus on creating interesting characters with some substance instead of whether they have 8 dicks or wear a polo shirt

[Newt]

Unless your 'sona is literally a mentally retarded snowflake...

 

brb changing sona

[Guest]

Relevant

[Red Lion]

Special snowflake isn't necessarily applicable to everything that's unique or unusual. A snowflake kind of character is usually going to be all style, no substance, different for the sake of being different, and, if it has a backstory, count on it being some kind of mary-sue brand wish fulfillment bullshit. 

The problem with a special snowflake character is that in spite of being a million crazy colors and being a dragon, angel, demon hybrid chosen one there is nothing remotely interesting or engaging about it. 

Making a dragon demon with six tails and angle wings just because it's "cool" or "badass" is a good way to end up with a special snowflake. 

Example: Supeirioris the six tailed angle dragon demon is the most powerful being in the world. He can totally rip you apart and fuck your girlfriend because he is badass awesome. He is the king of his dominion and no one can stand against him! He laughs at your pitiful mere mortal meat sack. His colors are black and red and he shoots lasers out of his eyes and can bludgeon you to death with his penis!

This character is obnoxious, totally lacks any kind development and is just there for his creator's personal self-insert fantasy. 

Making a dragon demon with six tails and angle wings because that fits into your story and has depth and substance to it is a different matter.

Example: At the heart of the earth there sleeps an ancient dragon god. Born from the first lava stream that breached the crust of the earth it is said that when he stirs the mountains smoke and magma bubbles to the surface. The ends of his six tails sticking out of the sea form a ring of volcanic islands and one day when he is grown he will awaken, stretch his feathered wings to the heavens and ascend to the sun. 

With something like that you can build a universe around it. You can add more story and actually make something interesting because the dragon is part of a bigger lore. He's still a massive godlike entity but he has a context now. You can humanize him by making him sentient or you can simply have him be a creature and write a world around him.

Whether a character fits special snowflake criteria is defined by context and substance. Not necessarily from the design of the character itself. 

[Saxon]

I find the emphasis among the furry fandom on having fursonas and developing imaginary characters pretty odd, in the first place. 

[Machine]

NO FUN ALLOWED THREAD OF CONFORMITY.

[Catilda Lily]

Where did the term Special Snowflake come from anyway? All snowflakes are different, there for they are all special. Does that mean every 'sona is a special snowflake.

[Nova]

15 hours ago, Catilda Lily said:

Where did the term Special Snowflake come from anyway? All snowflakes are different, there for they are all special. Does that mean every 'sona is a special snowflake.

Actually yes.

[jcstinks]

Hello! Nice list! However, you might want to consider that those particular problems aren't special snowflake problems, but rather they are just cliché.

For what it's worth, as a teenager, my character was a Japanese half-cat/half-fox with purple eyes and pink hair and lots of piercings and wings, and he changed from an angel to a devil dependent on his mood. I think I hit all the boxes there.