Yes, the icon is a Pony-fied Muraki
I call him "Kazutaka Mare-raki"; made that with the Pony Creation thingum on DeviantArt and am quite proud of it.
The reason for ye icon? Just back from the Salem N.H. Barnes & Noble, where I used the B&N gift card my dad gave me for the fifth day of Christmas. I intended to get the new Dresden Files graphic novel and the new anthology featuring a new DF-'verse short story. Found the former but not the latter. *But* I did find a nose-bag load of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic books, including the series guide (lots of pretty pictures, pre-production character designs and some behind the scenes tidbits), the three graphic novels (starting reading one and I have been laughing like mad, since in the first chapter alone, there are so many bonuses for the grown-ups reading it, including pony-fied references to J.D. Salinger, Barnes & Noble, and a quote from the pilot episode of the Mary Tyler Moore Show!) and one of the chapter books. I grew up playing with the brushable toys, now that the canon has had a much-welcomed reboot, I'm old enough to appreciate it (whilst cuddling with the plushies: I wanted MLP plushies as a kid, but they never turned up, or at least we never found any).
This after a slightly rough day at work; it wasn't harrowing, but it was busy because Friday and weekend and lots of people getting stuff for their long weekend (Monday being Martin Luther King Day), and a slightly rough appointment with my therapist yesterday (Thursday), though that dark cloud got relieved whilst I was waiting for the bus and a spunky older lady commented on my totebag with an image from Tolkien's design for the dustjacket of "The Hobbit". We got talking about books, mostly mysteries, and had a mutual squee-session over the new TV version of G.K. Chesterton's "Father Brown".
The reason for ye icon? Just back from the Salem N.H. Barnes & Noble, where I used the B&N gift card my dad gave me for the fifth day of Christmas. I intended to get the new Dresden Files graphic novel and the new anthology featuring a new DF-'verse short story. Found the former but not the latter. *But* I did find a nose-bag load of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic books, including the series guide (lots of pretty pictures, pre-production character designs and some behind the scenes tidbits), the three graphic novels (starting reading one and I have been laughing like mad, since in the first chapter alone, there are so many bonuses for the grown-ups reading it, including pony-fied references to J.D. Salinger, Barnes & Noble, and a quote from the pilot episode of the Mary Tyler Moore Show!) and one of the chapter books. I grew up playing with the brushable toys, now that the canon has had a much-welcomed reboot, I'm old enough to appreciate it (whilst cuddling with the plushies: I wanted MLP plushies as a kid, but they never turned up, or at least we never found any).
This after a slightly rough day at work; it wasn't harrowing, but it was busy because Friday and weekend and lots of people getting stuff for their long weekend (Monday being Martin Luther King Day), and a slightly rough appointment with my therapist yesterday (Thursday), though that dark cloud got relieved whilst I was waiting for the bus and a spunky older lady commented on my totebag with an image from Tolkien's design for the dustjacket of "The Hobbit". We got talking about books, mostly mysteries, and had a mutual squee-session over the new TV version of G.K. Chesterton's "Father Brown".