Fursona or Ideal Image?

[Emerald Blade]

I have a hard time understanding what a fursona is.  Thus far I've come to the conclusion that it's like a character in D&D, they are someone you act like, I'm not saying I got this right, and please correct me if I'm wrong.
Personally however I don't have a fursona, I have an ideal image of who I am, what i should look like and so on.  If i don't match this image it bugs me, but I can live with it.  An example of this is my Ideal Image has pierced ears, so i went out and got my ears pierced, they are now gaged out to a 6, and I love them.  On a weirder example my Ideal Image has a split tongue and as soon as i have the resources I plan to do just that.

The point of this Thread is to find out Which are you? Do you have an Ideal Image, or do you Have a character you play.

[Landrav]

I think that everybody has an "ideal image," though different people may have thought of it in different levels of detail.  For many furries, a fursona serves as a vehicle for part or all of their ideal image.

"Landrav" as my fursona serves partly as that ideal image.  However, Landrav is still a character I use for fun here on the forum, in IRC, and in stories.

(I should add that many furries use a fursona purely as a fun character to play, and others have a character which represents them as they currently are.)

[Shim]

Junyad Van Bloodmourne is part of me, but we ultimately have different personalities. He does get some personality traits from me though.

Right now, I'm using him in Exalted, Kaloth's forum RP, al-Kateb's (close friend of mine) RP (Where I developed the character), and 2 other skype RPs.

My avatar has the name 'Shim' on it, because that's what everybody knows me as, despite the character being 'Junyad Van Bloodmourne' .

[Skift]

I wouldn't say Skift is my "ideal image". Maybe it's kind of weird, but I like to think of him as a character whose colors, species, and name I made, then everything else just kind of came with that. He's got his own style, history, and he just happens to belong to me.
That, and it's more fun to act like him or my other fursona than myself x3

[homegrownkodi]

Kodi wasn't designed by me, he carries my personality, and even shares my real name. (scrap one letter xD)
When my friend wanted to make him, she was all "you need a new, less sparkley fursona that is more you..." and she randomly did it and my god, he fits me so well.
He is just a canine character of me C:
So character I play I guess?

I use him to represent myself online a lot C:

[Tuna]

I suppose I'd be willing to call Tuna my Ideal Self - he's me, but more the me I'd like to be...I suppose I use him to express/experience things I can't or won't myself. Well, that and he's way fuzzier/younger/fitter than I, which I guess is where the "Ideal" part comes in.
XD

[Avan]

There are a lot of Avans.

I am Avan. Not a reflection of anything, but is me. That is the name I gave myself. My own conscious sub-mind self.
Another Avan is my idealized form, and I am working to reach that pinnacle of perfection, casting off the instincts and built-in modes of thought of this brain that plague my operations. This Avan is also a mind, but also usually depicted by me as having some type of azarian body.
Yet more Avans are characters, either ones I play in RP's or in stories or stuff, each tailored to the atmosphere and balance of the universe and plot in which he appears.

[Sk Skunk]

An ideal image? Not for me. I am SK. You get the fluff with the stuff, good and bad. Except for the bald spot, SK has a full coat.

That's the thing about a fursona. It can be whatever you want.

[furtopia02]

My ideal image is me, only slimmer, with larger muscles, and thicker hair, and less scars and blemishes. 

[Zhono Veranhaut]

Hmmm... Well, I guess my primary fursona is a little bit of everything. The main use would be in various RPGs. Heck I have about five different versions of him in Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivon alone (mine's modded with a Soqui Race pack, the coyote one works just fine). Aside from that, it is an Internet identity I use for myself. I guess it would be an ideal self as well.

Other fursonas of mine are just alternate web identities for when I need a change of pace.

[Stigandr]

Stigandr is basically a spin-off of me, only fluffier. He changes as I change. I don't have really an Ideal image for him or my self IRL.
And it's quite possible Stigandr may be switching species soon.

[Loganberry]

Ooh, interesting question, this. Logan is basically me, but tweaked a bit. For example, the human is diabetic; the bunny isn't. The human isn't at all athletic; the bunny can run and jump (and burrow!) quite nicely. But he's shy and nervous like me, his social and political attitudes are very close to mine, and he reacts to things much as I would do. I regularly sign emails (at least to friends) as Logan, and consider it as much of a name to me as my RL name is. Maybe in my case that extra layer between myself and the world helps just a tad to overcome what used to be almost crippling shyness, and is still a big factor.

[Fen-Fen]

Tryst and my yet-to-be-named Leonberger self are two separate parts of me. They aren't an idealized image of me since they're both on the fluffy side.

[TCD]

I'm sure for some, their furry avatar (fursona) and their Ideal Image are one and the same.

It's not for me. "TCD" is just a name I go by on the internet, and an anthropomorphic lioness with dragon wings is just the picture I go by on the internet. At the same time, it's not a separate character like it is for some people.

[Gigi]

Gigi is me with all my faults and good points, but sometimes some points are exaggerated. She has my body type (in anthro), my terrible eyesight, some bits of my real-life appearance (glasses, hair, ect.), and even my nickname. Though, sure, irl I definitely don't resmble a little pink goat.
 
She is a sparklified me and nothing more, as my ideal image changes all the time because I really don't know who I am or want to be just yet. It's just I'm just the kind of person who prefers a brightly colored animal to one with natural colors and markings.