digitallyFANGED

She appeared as an OC when I first got into the Mega Man fandom... 20+ years ago. She was born mostly out of the frustration of no female characters in the MMX fandom. We had...Iris. That was it. And me, I wanted a badass lady maverick (Which we wouldn't even get until Command Mission, ung) So I set about making myself a Maverick lady. She was a big ass dragon humanoid reploid, who liked to cannibalize other reploids. I loved her, she was cool!

...Then I went to graphic design school. "You should make this character your branding!" said one of my teachers. And like the agreeable little millennial, I did so. Louhi became my brand ambassador. (Maybe it's no wonder I never got any interviews when I graduated...) But yeah, in the long run, that was a mistake. Louhi became my avatar, and a "mirror" for me. And in the end, that ruined her, because while she still had the cannibalistic joke side of her, because she was that mirror of me, I was too afraid to actually DO anything with her, and it kneecapped her. No back story. No stories. She interacted with Sigma in some pictures, but... nothing else. I kept trying to force my personalty traits on her, and because it clashed, she just became... an object. Like I doll I could dress up. Not me, but a boring version of me that shared nothing I valued anymore. (I don't like having long hair, I don't like having open skin clothing, I don't wear glasses anymore, I don't like makeup even tho it's technically not makeup she's wearing, I don't have a strong personality anymore like I did as a teen/young adult)

Add to the fact she was Louhi, and I was Tabby, and it confused the fuck outta people my avatar had a different name from me.

So... I'm cutting the cord and letting her go free.

Wait, no, don't panic!

I still love her! She's not going anywhere!

But, she's going back to what she should be- a original fan character for Mega Man X that I can be silly with and not feel constrained into a box. She can continue to skitter around on walls like the xenomorph rip off she is.

Think as Louhi as the 90s anime that is dark and still cool to be around. But now we're in 2026 and I'm feeling more bright new age anime.

So, what's next? I'm changing "me". Louhi will be Louhi. I have a new avatar that will be the online branding of Tabby(digitallyfanged) So, things will be switching, for the first time in like, 20ish freaking years. Good lord.