Halloween Madness (and the Secret History Behind It)
Well, I promised pictures. So let's see if anyone can guess who my alter ego turned out to be...
It really shouldn't be that hard. Also, it really shouldn't be needed to let my readers know this is going to be image heavy. But I'll give a warning, anyhow, since I'm so nice :P.
Yes, it is I, Bao-Dur, the dry-witted mechanic who keeps to himself and has an uncomfortably close relationship with his remote ;). So the suspense is over for those who were guessing (as if my costumes actually incite that much excitement :P).
There's actually a story behind this (as well as why he's my avatar). It actually begins only shortly after I began to play TSL and a ways before I actually met the lonely Iridonian on Telos' surface. A friend of mine happened to be over and began bubbling over with excitement, wanting to tell me everything about the game (in spite of my pleas for no spoilers - he did subside thankfully), which he had already beaten (though it was early January). Before he left though he managed to tell me that I was soooo Bao-Dur. Not that I knew who that was. So I forgot about it (for the time being - I have an excellent memory - not photographic, just excellent).
The issue didn't pop up until much later when I began writing fan fiction for the game and joining in on the KotOR Fan Media community. It was there that I discovered a personality test. It wasn't actually all that bad, though it had perhaps far too many answers. The results that came back surprised me - I was expecting to get the Disciple, given my prominent self-image at the time (introverted, socially inept, and dignified in a noble sort of way). In retrospect, though, Bao-Dur is a closer match and I'm really neither polite nor noble enough to be Mical ;).
So though the results surprised me, I took them to heart and examined the character through the lens of self-imagery, finding many more similarities than I had imagined (such as the aforementioned subtle but dry wit, the hidden hot temper, and a single-minded approach to my work). So, eventually, I switched out the avatar I'd been using (based off of my personal image of Revan for an edited concept render of Bao-Dur.
I never would have expected me to dress up as the guy though, since I never imagined I looked anything like him. Personality was as far as I was going to go. But then, when I did post an image of myself over on the forums one of the users, a friend that went by the screen name SqueakOscm, looked at the photo I'd posted - then looked at my avatar - then looked at the photo again and said that I must have chosen the avatar because I looked like Bao-Dur. That surprised me even more than the personality test result had and I quickly corrected her. Then she pointed out what features precisely were similar (basically facial structure, cheek bone locations, and chin).
Since it was too late that time of year (shortly after Halloween last year) for me to go anywhere with it I didn't. But I secretly planned to afterwords use this alter ego as my Halloween costume. And so I did.
Actually, it almost didn't end up happening since the horns arrived at the last minute by mail (didn't end up finding the time to go shopping, being the procrastinating writer I am). But they did and I decided to shave everything off, all the hair I'd grown on and off for about a year and a half (though it had been cut about three or four times over that period).
To emphasize the transformation I underwent (and therefore how strange it was that someone saw through my face to see Bao-Dur) here's a comparison before and after set of shots:
Strange, huh? Even I can hardly believe the difference. Just goes to show how much difference a little bit of pen markings and hair (or lack thereof) can do.
Anyhow, I'll probably actually be shedding this avatar soon though the costume worked so surprisingly well that I think I'll probably end up using it for something else in the future (the horns came through the removal process intact). Maybe even paint the horns or touch up the costume a bit more. But I digress.
The point is that, as a writer struggling to forge his own IP at the moment (and getting closer by the minute) I think it's probably best I find a way to forge my identity separate from my fandom - not that I'll ever abandon it or even try to hide it. I'm proud of who I am, strange as that may sound after years of being told otherwise until finally, around my junior year of high school, I started embracing my identity. So, yes, I'm still a fanboy at heart. But I hope that that's not all I'll be seen as in the future.
Anyhow, last pictures coming up and a little bit of commentary for them as well.
and here's a reference shot
You might notice a few things. First of all, I don't have a cybernetic arm because I didn't lose one in the Mandalorian Wars like our mechanic did. Similarly, the costume's not exactly the same, namely because I couldn't find anything that looked anything like the utility belt thingy he's wearing and because there seemed to be a conspicuous lack of green T-shirts in my wardrobe (or my brothers' for that matter - much of what I'm wearing is actually my younger brother Aidan's). But even though you might think this is all because of costuming convenience (which of course it is) the real reason I'm dressed up that way is because I'm not Bao-Dur in TSL. I'm Bao-Dur before TSL, back when he was in the Republic Army Engineering Corps ;). Hence, the dog tag you might spot (yeah, I'm sure they don't use dog tags in Star Wars but really, who knows?).
Oh, and yes, my skin isn't quite the right shade of Vulcanian gray and my eyes aren't brown. So sue me :P.
Anyhow, hope you all had a great Halloween (sounds like most of you did) and thanks for checking the costume out, as second-rate as it might be ;).
It really shouldn't be that hard. Also, it really shouldn't be needed to let my readers know this is going to be image heavy. But I'll give a warning, anyhow, since I'm so nice :P.
Yes, it is I, Bao-Dur, the dry-witted mechanic who keeps to himself and has an uncomfortably close relationship with his remote ;). So the suspense is over for those who were guessing (as if my costumes actually incite that much excitement :P).
There's actually a story behind this (as well as why he's my avatar). It actually begins only shortly after I began to play TSL and a ways before I actually met the lonely Iridonian on Telos' surface. A friend of mine happened to be over and began bubbling over with excitement, wanting to tell me everything about the game (in spite of my pleas for no spoilers - he did subside thankfully), which he had already beaten (though it was early January). Before he left though he managed to tell me that I was soooo Bao-Dur. Not that I knew who that was. So I forgot about it (for the time being - I have an excellent memory - not photographic, just excellent).
The issue didn't pop up until much later when I began writing fan fiction for the game and joining in on the KotOR Fan Media community. It was there that I discovered a personality test. It wasn't actually all that bad, though it had perhaps far too many answers. The results that came back surprised me - I was expecting to get the Disciple, given my prominent self-image at the time (introverted, socially inept, and dignified in a noble sort of way). In retrospect, though, Bao-Dur is a closer match and I'm really neither polite nor noble enough to be Mical ;).
So though the results surprised me, I took them to heart and examined the character through the lens of self-imagery, finding many more similarities than I had imagined (such as the aforementioned subtle but dry wit, the hidden hot temper, and a single-minded approach to my work). So, eventually, I switched out the avatar I'd been using (based off of my personal image of Revan for an edited concept render of Bao-Dur.
I never would have expected me to dress up as the guy though, since I never imagined I looked anything like him. Personality was as far as I was going to go. But then, when I did post an image of myself over on the forums one of the users, a friend that went by the screen name SqueakOscm, looked at the photo I'd posted - then looked at my avatar - then looked at the photo again and said that I must have chosen the avatar because I looked like Bao-Dur. That surprised me even more than the personality test result had and I quickly corrected her. Then she pointed out what features precisely were similar (basically facial structure, cheek bone locations, and chin).
Since it was too late that time of year (shortly after Halloween last year) for me to go anywhere with it I didn't. But I secretly planned to afterwords use this alter ego as my Halloween costume. And so I did.
Actually, it almost didn't end up happening since the horns arrived at the last minute by mail (didn't end up finding the time to go shopping, being the procrastinating writer I am). But they did and I decided to shave everything off, all the hair I'd grown on and off for about a year and a half (though it had been cut about three or four times over that period).
To emphasize the transformation I underwent (and therefore how strange it was that someone saw through my face to see Bao-Dur) here's a comparison before and after set of shots:
Strange, huh? Even I can hardly believe the difference. Just goes to show how much difference a little bit of pen markings and hair (or lack thereof) can do.
Anyhow, I'll probably actually be shedding this avatar soon though the costume worked so surprisingly well that I think I'll probably end up using it for something else in the future (the horns came through the removal process intact). Maybe even paint the horns or touch up the costume a bit more. But I digress.
The point is that, as a writer struggling to forge his own IP at the moment (and getting closer by the minute) I think it's probably best I find a way to forge my identity separate from my fandom - not that I'll ever abandon it or even try to hide it. I'm proud of who I am, strange as that may sound after years of being told otherwise until finally, around my junior year of high school, I started embracing my identity. So, yes, I'm still a fanboy at heart. But I hope that that's not all I'll be seen as in the future.
Anyhow, last pictures coming up and a little bit of commentary for them as well.
and here's a reference shot
You might notice a few things. First of all, I don't have a cybernetic arm because I didn't lose one in the Mandalorian Wars like our mechanic did. Similarly, the costume's not exactly the same, namely because I couldn't find anything that looked anything like the utility belt thingy he's wearing and because there seemed to be a conspicuous lack of green T-shirts in my wardrobe (or my brothers' for that matter - much of what I'm wearing is actually my younger brother Aidan's). But even though you might think this is all because of costuming convenience (which of course it is) the real reason I'm dressed up that way is because I'm not Bao-Dur in TSL. I'm Bao-Dur before TSL, back when he was in the Republic Army Engineering Corps ;). Hence, the dog tag you might spot (yeah, I'm sure they don't use dog tags in Star Wars but really, who knows?).
Oh, and yes, my skin isn't quite the right shade of Vulcanian gray and my eyes aren't brown. So sue me :P.
Anyhow, hope you all had a great Halloween (sounds like most of you did) and thanks for checking the costume out, as second-rate as it might be ;).