I CREATE MYSELF; PB ICONS

So, I thought about posting something good that I was proud of for this day. But then I thought, "why post good graphics when I can post terrible graphics?"

Guys, this is the first background I ever tried to make for a character journal. Circa 2004. I was probably 14 or 15. I photoshopped the MWPP PBs onto not one, but two paintings that somebody with genuine artistic talent made. And it resulted in this ridiculous mess:

Note how Remus's left arm just ends in the middle of the image. 14-year-old me made some good faith efforts to blur it enough to distract you, but they were not successful. And how the paintings just end before the edge of the layout, which also has a stray brown pen mark that I clearly forgot to clean up. Why are the marauders in a box with an uneven border? God only knows. Also notice that 14-year-old me apparently got bored of removing the background around the other characters, so she left chunks of it in.

Also note that this RPG was using Hayden Christianson to play a 16-year-old, and Beans from Even Stevens was used as Peter. I am, however, almost proud of the relative non-horribleness of James's glasses - compared to the pixelated disaster that is the rest of his face, his glasses ALMOST look like they're supposed to be there.


However, I am legit proud of this graphic, from Gyre:

It is a shame that this graphic did not get more mileage.

01. Blurring IC/OOC lines - This one's pretty self-explanatory. Others have explained it better, so now I don't have to. Number 1 and 2 are probably the only legitimate problems on this list.

02. When people sit on plot important/popular characters - Also self-explanatory. I'm sure I've done this before plenty of times, but it drives me crazy. Especially when the character(s) in question are supposed to have plot with mine. I totally get that people have IRL things, and I definitely don't hold that against anyone. But especially when someone has a lot of characters and has to use a hiatus towards activity many months in a row, I get very frustrated.

03. Not proofreading - Especially homophone switching, obvious anachronisms and spelling/grammar mistakes that obfuscate meaning. I know full well that this one is A) stupid, B) petty, and C) hypocritical, because I have definitely done all of these things. Recently, probably. And I know that a lot of us RP on our phones, and autocorrect is a pain in the ass. But sometimes, when I see otherwise very intelligent writers making the same mistakes repeatedly, it takes me out of the moment. It's like watching a movie and seeing the camera crew reflected in a glass surface. Again, I freely admit that this is a stupid complaint, and that RP is supposed to be a way to have fun and unwind. And I don't actually hold it against anyone who makes them, because I'd have to be pissed at myself, too. But you know. Pet Peeves. Not legitimate problems.

04. Underscores - This one is SUCH A STUPID COMPLAINT, I know. I've already told Rebecca that when I first met her, I was wary of her because her username had an underscore in it, and I judged her accordingly. God, this one is so dumb. Sorry, friends list. I know some of you use them. And I realize objectively that there's nothing wrong with underscores. I still love you all. I've learned to look past it. It just reminds me so much of my old neopets account with the six billion underscores and the misspelled username.

05. Disney and/or Twilight PBs - Also a dumb one. And I have violated this rule myself on many occasions. But I just really don't like to be forced to think about Miley Cyrus under any circumstances.

Tony Stark / Iron Man (MCU) -- Tony is the only character I'm playing right now whom I've played before. I love Tony Stark, and his swagger, and his neuroses, and his damage, and all of the crazy shit that you have to mash together to get Tony Stark. Not particularly looking forward to playing him Post-Iron Man 3, because I'm bitter about it. But while I love playing 616 Tony with his utilitarianism and the interesting was that his ideology conflicts with those of other members of his team, I like playing MCU Tony because we get to explore how he got there. Who he was in the early stages of being Iron Man, how things might have been different for him if the team had formed in a different way. How much better his life is now that he doesn't have to be friends with Reed Richards. That sort of thing.

Anyway, It's a character I've played a few times, but who I still feel like I'm actively discovering in many ways. There are a lot of decisions I made early on while playing the character that I look back on with a cringe while attempting to convince myself that last year was actually more than a year ago, as if sufficient passage of time will excuse it. In short, he's still a work in progress.

Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier (MCU) -- I've played this guy a few times, mostly in PSLs, but I'm planning on playing the 616 version in another game in the not-too-distant future. Bucky is probably my favorite -- maybe third favorite, since I waffle a lot -- comic book character, and I love what they've done with him in the MCU. Naturally, I am really excited to see what they do with him in CA2. The Winter Soldier arc is awesome, and I will forgive many of Ed Brubaker's sins for making Bucky even cooler. (Although not what he did to Sharon, because fuck that.) Anyway, I've played Bucky a few times, but it's always hard to really work out the arc of Bucky not knowing who he is, and then slowly discovering it. One day, I hope I get the timing right.

--

Other:

Remus Lupin got a mention on favorite characters I've made, so I won't go into him. There are a lot of HP characters I've played multiple times, but I feel intensely bored by the idea of talking about them for some reason. Probably because I have a headache and I'm undercaffienated. I've played all of the marauders at least once, and I'm pretty proud of all of them except Lily. My Lily Evans was truly a catastrophe. She was 16 and her PB was Bryce Dallas Howard. There is no excuse for that. IDEFK, guys. IDEFK.

The only other HP character I'm fond of whom I've played multiple times was Curt "Danger" Lemon (dangerlemonade). He had many incarnations and many names. He was basically what happened when I decided to make the most ridiculous rock star I could think of. He was a pathological liar who used to "translate" the things that his drummer best friend (who never spoke) said in interviews. I don't know what possessed me to make this character. But he always had the weirdest friends. It was beautiful.