Winged Felines...

[Deleted]

So I'm not sure how to phrase this or where this should go. Im frustrated. Im annoyed... I need to rant, perhaps Im looking for input? I dont know... Anyways..

So Disney is coming out with a new princess (and normally I dont care about such things. Cool, a new race of princess. awesome) Its called Elena of Avalor. But the thing that has my fur and feathers in a ruffle is the Princess' friend and mount is... a winged feline. It is named Skylar, and I'm not certain if they released the name of what its species is. There are a few things that have me uneasy about it...lets start with the first. The color scheme and general look of the character is very similar to how I draw my kintype. I draw myself as a large species of feline with yellow (gold) and white fur with bright blue markings. I have feathered wings and a long tail with a feathered tail tip. I also draw myself with aqua colored eyes as thats how I've always seen them...My kintype also lived amongst humans... From the looks of it this Skylar is everything I just mentioned. There are some differences though so its not a direct copy. Skylar lacks horns and sabre teeth, a feathered crest, wing 'claws', a flap of skin on the wings, has blue feathers on the wings and also has spots instead of stripes... but ultimately feels like a watered down version of how I draw my kintype, just with spots instead...

Although that is my first annoyance, there are a few others. Discovering my kintype was hard. It still is. Winged felines aren't entirely popular in earth's mystical lore. They are hinted at. There are a few pictures and statues, but there is nothing on them like dragons, griffons, phoenix, unicorns, etc. They are more of a lesser thing. They are seen as something mashed together and made up, which I suppose could be said about any other mystical beast...but theres something about winged felines that sort of screams "you combined a cat with a bird." I've doubted myself on several occasions. I question all the time. I meditate. I self reflect. I grow more confident..

I search for other 'winged felines' but its hard and most I've encountered seemed to be of a different type (small), or have admitted that the wings are symbolic and not really a part of their species. Which is all fine. But then this show comes along and instead of being excited to see something that is very close to my kintype; Im annoyed and frustrated. I'm frustrated that this will become a fad amongst those seeking attention or those that don't invest the time into their discovery. I'm frustrated that people might start claiming they are Skylar-kin or its fellow kind, because they saw it on tv and it 'clicked'. Im annoyed that winged felines are seemingly growing in popularity but I still cant find any old, useful lore on them. Its not that I want to feel "special", Im frustrated because it will only make my search only that much harder!

Lately I've been writing a story about my life as my kinself. Ive debated publishing it or even turning it into a webcomic. After my last drawing, its style convinced me to try my paw at comics again... but with the popularity this show is bound to get, and how much publicity this winged feline is already getting; I only get the feeling that mine will only be seen as copying Disney when Ive identified as a winged feline for years!

[G.D.]

Well, think of this way. Every mythological being gets their day in popular media. Some want it, some don't. But in an age where people are generally devoid of original ideas, pulling upon preexisting myth makes things a lot easier for them.

When I read your first large paragraph, it makes me think that you're not upset about the fact the winged feline is being put in a Disney film. You seem to be more upset at the relation the winged feline has to the star character (or what I assume is the star character), over anything. Is this correct? If not, don't mind me.

Winged animals have been fairly common in mythology for a long time in human history. This is due to several associations human beings have with wings, and what they symbolize for them. But almost every animal that we are aware of has gotten wings of some sort. The myth is usually particular to the environment or land it comes from, as animals that are not present where the myth originated would surely not show up. But, even foxes have gotten wings put on them. - Wings symbolize freedom for mankind. We're as species that is landlocked without the help of advanced technology. When most people look at birds, they typically describe them as being 'free', because of their ability to fly. Being able to leave the earth and enter the air symbolizes a great desire for freedom from a person's daily life. There's a lot of psychological implications behind this, and is part of the reason why angels or angel like beings appeared in every mythology at some point across the entire planet. Putting wings on animals gives that animal an added dose of 'freedom', which is the general theme behind it's mythology (most of the time). Rare, delicate, free creatures able to leave the woes of the earth behind whenever they desire.

Scientifically speaking, wings on animals that they are present on in mythology would have to be several times larger than how they are portrayed for them to function properly. It's why dragons in a general western sense wouldn't actually be able to fly. Their wings would have to have been twice, if not three times as large, as how they are generally portrayed for that animal to achieve the ability of flight. Of course, science wasn't a factor in most mythological creature's creation.

I'm gonna stop my rant there because it takes away from the point.

You shouldn't feel like Disney's movie is going to invalidate you. If you feel that way, there's some underlining issues that you need to work through that don't have anything to do with the potential rise in popularity with a Disney film. We all expected Zootopia to bring wave upon wave of wolf and foxkin our way, but it didn't. Surprise to all of us in that regard, haha. Just because something's going to get it's day in a form of popular media doesn't mean it's going to invalidate what you are. And what you've identified for as years.

I mean just look at twilight of all things.

[Deleted]

You make several good points G.D. . I suppose it was more of the closeness and similarities of the art that had me more miffed then anything. There are many, many different color combinations and they chose gold, white and blue..really?  Why not purples or greens or reds? I dunno. I just get defensive when things look close to my characters in general, especially my kinself. From an art standpoint its just annoying. Its like when I used to go by the name Sabor people would then make comments like "Oh like the cat in Tarzan.." I'm just frustrated that it might have a similar feel. "Oh you identify as a winged feline, just like that character from that Disney show..." I dunno. Like I've stated before I'm very stressed these days; between relatives living with us and a very good chance we'll have to move by the end of the year...I'm just stressed, and seeing that kinda just set me off. Just drew all my frustrations together and focused on that I suppose. I guess in a way it makes it easier to get winged feline merchandise though..

[Deleted]

Well I understand your frustration because as Geist said I was expecting Zootopia to have all types of people saying that they are otherkin when they don't probably even know what it means

Still whenever I draw my kintype it seems that within the next month someone makes a movie/Tv show about it which has me like "I thinks Disney is spying on me whenever I draw" lol

Still I'm always getting "Triggered" because whenever I draw my kintype it's a wolf with a black snout white paws a grey chest and his back is a silver color while the tip of its tail is black so a few movies and tv shows have me "Triggered" oh wow... sorry for such a long rant! (Btw here's a way to find winged felines just look up gryphons they are lions mixed with eagles so that about the best I can give you about the research stuff