truepenny | iconage

elisem was asking a few days ago about people's icons.

I didn't answer at the time, for reasons which now escape me, but it occurs to me now that the topic is ideally suited to cat-vacuuming. Which, since the short story I'm working on has gone sticky, I feel in need of.

And, since there is madness to the method dictating which icons show up when, it further occurs to me that at least some of y'all might be interested in and/or grateful for an explanation.

Ergo.

Icons.

The first two on this list (which is not, btw, in the same order as the lineup on the user-pictures page) were made by me. The next ten are the work of

heres_luck. The icons from Firefly and Buffy the Vampire Slayer were made by

jess79, and the Twin Peaks icon was very kindly made for me by

tzikeh.

Hamlet (current default): This is a caricature of John Barrymore as Hamlet. It's been my dissertation icon for a while, and is currently my default--both because I need to make dissertating my default setting and because I'm simply ridiculously fond of Hamlet as a play, Hamlet as a character, and Hamlet as portrayed in this drawing.
Illya with shotgun: Illya is representing my current media obsession, The Man from UNCLE. He is also my Don't fuck with me icon, and thus may be an indicator that my mood is not of the best.
porpentine with flowers: Three porpentine icons, playing with another Hamlet reference. The porpentine with flowers is for crankiness.
porpentine with snow: The porpentine in the snow indicates insecurity. Also feeling bad on other people's behalf.
porpentine with strawberry: For good news and congratulatoriness.
mink with fish: A reference to my personal bestiary (and, hey, there's a topic for another cat-vacuuming post): The Madly Savage Mink Which Is My Competitiveness. This is for posts in which I'm feeling savage but trying to laugh at myself. Also for moments of Life's a bitch, and so am I.
fox: LIKE WRITERS, FOXES ARE ALSO LIARS: An icon for thinking about writing. Generally indicates the meta or philosophical. It refers, obliquely and in a backhanded way, to a section that has been cut from Mélusine, and is the closest I'm likely to come to quoting myself.
fennec: Nuts and bolts of writing (continuing the fox theme). Word counts and so on. Also one of my favorite icons, so likely to show up randomly just 'cause.
mole with flowers: I like moles.
mole without: I really like moles.
Venus flytrap: TEETH: This icon is in honor of Audrey, the Venus flytrap which is one of the three plants in the house. Used for posts about Audrey and likely to show up when I'm feeling silly.
ducks: DUCKS IN A ROW: An icon indicating organization and progress (especially on the dissertation)--which is why it shows up so rarely.
Buffy and Faith dancing: TEXT: Talking about books icon. Also celebratory.
River: NOBODY LOVES A GENIUS CHILD: In honor of Firefly. Also for expressing sympathy to others and feeling sorry for myself.
Audrey and Cooper dancing: FIRST FANDOM: I don't have a specific use for Audrey and Coop, although I can think of several topics I could sort them under. They show up when they want to.