“I refuse to feed the image egregore by being anything other than what I am.”

— Get me off this damned pedestal! by lupa in the Key 23 archive.

Consider also:

  1. “We feed the web, nurture the memepool, tend the light. Always pushing forward, hacking the collective. Never give up. Never surrender.”
  2. “Some old magical writer, I forget who, says if you wish to be melancholy hold in your left hand an image of the Moon made out of silver, and if you wish to be happy hold in your right hand an image of the Sun made out of gold.”
  3. “Even among the occulture there’s a certain focus on image. People have this idea that once you become an author or some other notorious character that you automatically forfeit your right to make mistakes. There are those who take advantage of the vulnerability of being public by trying to tear down anyone whose success intimidates them. They work on the tabloid mentality that any public figures, even in a subculture, MUST be perfect, and any flaws are automatic signs of ill repute.”
  4. “Thus does life both rise from the ashes and feed her young.”
  5. “Ya know what? I’m human. I piss, I shit, I fart and belch and vomit when I get sick. I fuck, and I bleed from my crotch once a month like most bio-females my age. Furthermore, I have a bad temper, strong opinions and a bad habit of putting my foot in my mouth at inopportune times. And you know what? I’m not going to pretend those things aren’t as much a part of me along with the intelligence, perseverance, love of talking shop, and pure sexiness, just so I can create a wholly positive image.”