Who is THAT?! (Would you recognize yourself now?)

[The Drunken Jester]

The Jester says...

This is a topic for people who've been on Gaia for a little bit now (at least a year)

Exhibit A:


So, looking through my photobucket of all my Gaia junk I stumbled across this replica of what I know to be my first 'complete' avatar.

Looking at that, and thinking it's kinda cute/kinda dorky, I have to wonder - would I even associate with a person who had that sort of avatar on nowadays? not so much because of the avatar itself, but more because of the type of person it reflects I guess.
I mean, if there were a time jump in the system somehow and my past self was hanging around in the forums somewhere chances are I wouldn't even meet them.
I was a Barton dwelling Exchanger for the first year or so that I was on Gaia. I wouldn't touch foot in those places now! (Well, I've been lurking in the exchange, but this is a newish thing and sort of proves my point...)

So, GCD, the topic of this discussion is evolution of self while on Gaia. NOT 'Oh what a silly newbie I was'.

My interests have changed. And with it so have the places and people I hang out with on Gaia. It's even changed the style of avatar I prefer. Back when I first joined I never would have even thought about having a male avatar.

How does this effect you? Not my personal story (though I'm sure you'd all miss me if I had never become a GCDer) but your own personal growth. Has it effected your Gaia experience?

Some people grow out of Gaia, I know that several of my old friends did. But I'm more interested in how people change but find that they're still interested in Gaia, just different parts of it.

...You are highly entertained.

[hornworts]

I've stayed pretty similar on this account from my last tempabanned one. Wow, for over two years I've been a dapper gentleman with a fantastical twist.

Before that... random female avatars.

[PedaI]

My most-common avatar was this:
-male base.
-rainyday hair.
-wool sweater, glamrock jeans, and socks.
That's been way back in '07, and temporarily when I came back two years ago though.

[WhipWhip]

A bit of a reversal... when I was younger on this site, I really hated the style of avatar I usually have now.

I wouldn't have associated with myself and I would have thought myself an a** for making shitty matchy match avatars.

[The Drunken Jester]

VVhip

A bit of a reversal... when I was younger on this site, I really hated the style of avatar I usually have now.

I wouldn't have associated with myself and I would have thought myself an a** for making shitty matchy match avatars.

The Jester says...

I have NO CLUE how past me would have reacted to present me. Part of me thinks the reaction would have been something like 'Well, why are you using a male base to make female avatars?? That doesn't make any sense." Since at the time I LOVED the female base and thought the male base was godawful.

...You are highly entertained.

[Pengaana]

This thing hanging around the AMC talking about what a smexy bishie Sesshomaru (or Shessy as oftenly called in fangirl days) was. Even my username HISKKGLVN fanatic screamed "THIS WOMAN IS ********' FANGIRL" I guess more if you understood and every letter was the name of an anime guy I was obsessed with. My looks were based on nothing more then a "Sesshomaru look" with Japanese inspired accessories


After a while this started hanging around the charity forums and free art forums. I had just gotten my dream avatar and I was so proud of it. I still have all the wonderful free art of that avatar. My name had changed to Lady Tatsuhiko as my fandoms changed (I also changed my hair to purple to match that Tatsuhiko style) and after the charity disbanded I resigned myself to lurking.


After a while as fandoms changed again I tweaked up my name to my current username putting on the most "fitting" Konan hair and becoming a vampire skin user. I started lurking the GCD occationally because of MC prediction threads and kinda never left. I was all excited with the different items on Gaia (the age of EIs and all)


After that my avatars seemed less "slopped on" and more matchy (the above avatar is my first "masterpiece" as it got 9.5 in avatar chat). I started cosplaying (I saw cosplay avatars all the time here) and thus my rule of always keeping my vampire skin and my "expensive" hair faded away and I began to change it all the time as well as my skin and eventually my eyes too.

I think it would be a shocker to meet my past self. She'd probably be most shocked by how many items I have. I use to have so few items when I was a young-un. The second avatar was wearing everything in my inventory at the time. Whenever I didn't like a piece of clothing anymore I use to sell it. Now I'm such a pack-rat gonk

[your local teashop]

Yes, my avatar dress sense has changed a lot, buuuuut...
I used to hang around in the CB a lot, and I still like to go there for a laugh. I could see myself conceivably meeting some past version of me over there and having nifty, silly conversations that involves yelling memes and no substance whatsoever.

[Chaoxis]

Honestly.. I haven't changed all that much. I think the only thing that's different between now and then is how I typed - I don't clearly remember any posts, but I get the feeling I was a bit less.. restrained? in ye olde days - and where I lurked. I started out in the Chatterbox with a bit of GCD on the side; now it's all GCD. All the time.

I wouldn't shun "newbie" me by avatar alone - after all, I still find a little pride in that old biker jacket-and-sweater wearing catboy when I see him in my avatar folder, and I'm sure me in the past seeing the avatar of me now would be like "WHAT HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO GET THAT SCARF" XD

Then we would go off and lurk together. Possibly with rainbows.

.. it really says something about a person when they can't think of how they've changed in approximately six years. Stagnancy, thy name is Chaoxis.

[Khraleon]

Oh goodness I can hardly remember what my first complete outfit was.

I remember I had gone after the Rainy hairstyle when I first started and in fact I still have it.
It's underneath this wig. xD
So that hasn't changed well except the dying it a different shade of colors every now and then.

My coordination in making a good looking avatar has changed.
I used to have all sorts of random stuff placed on my avatar though I slowly saw myself beginning to actually attempt making an avatar look nice rather then utterly random by slapping expensive items all over it.
I would post a pic of a past avatar but I can't seem to find one...

If I met my past self, I would think the past me would be astonished and jealous.
I was a rather slightly jealous person, of all the people with the cool and nice avatars. .__.

[Reyairia]

Not that much, my avatar style hasn't changed much at all. I just switched from the gray lolita hair to this current one.

The only thing that has changed since I came from my 3 year hiatus is that I hang out in the Chatterbox more. And I can actually make gold now.

[Anti-Ling]

The 14-16 year old me was a vile creature that is best trapped in the past
god help us if it ever discovers time travel



that said its avis weren't too shabby

[The Drunken Jester]

Konan Tatsuhiko

I think it would be a shocker to meet my past self. She'd probably be most shocked by how many items I have. I use to have so few items when I was a young-un. The second avatar was wearing everything in my inventory at the time. Whenever I didn't like a piece of clothing anymore I use to sell it. Now I'm such a pack-rat gonk

The Jester says...

I never kept items either. As an exchanger-type person I tended to never keep items for more than a few weeks. The only one I ever kept for longer than that was my Mr. Pointy. My demonic pitchfork - once I got it - never left my side for a minute. Every single avatar, no matter how unfitting it was, had that pitchfork in it.

...You are highly entertained.

[Infamous]

I refuse to show my first few avatars.

When I first started on this site... I think that self and who I am now probably wouldn't react well. I was so serious when I first started. I basically had one look. The idea of changing wasn't even considered.

[Ariana]

The base did, not so much the style. Aside from my current avatar, I would always try and sport the newest items in a nice fashion.
I used to keep the same red hair and green eyes, telling myself I'd never change them. I probably spent around 1.5M on hair and eyes from the salon. Damnit Gaia, why can't you be like other avatar sites and make the salon hair as wigs and the eyes as contacts? ; 3;

[Pengaana]

The Drunken Jester

The Jester says...

I never kept items either. As an exchanger-type person I tended to never keep items for more than a few weeks. The only one I ever kept for longer than that was my Mr. Pointy. My demonic pitchfork - once I got it - never left my side for a minute. Every single avatar, no matter how unfitting it was, had that pitchfork in it.

...You are highly entertained.

Oh man that was my Coco kitty. I got it as a gift from my bff a couple weeks after joining. As I'm going though my past avatars it's on 90% of them up until a certain point (second name change) had it as part of the avatar. Past self might be sad that I never use it anymore. Heck she'd probably get mad at me for not wearing my expensive items enough. She'd be like "If you've got them wear them" and "You spent forever questing those Baby Seal Slippers and you never wear them anymore?!?"