When I first set up my LJ, I wanted an icon that would be distinctive and also communicate something about me. And I have this tremendous Thing for creatures that are both adorable and angry/evil/horrific (this also applies to children, John Watson, my little sister and my pet parrot). So I looked around my room, and there was my own plushie Cthulhu, sitting on top of my computer where it wards off gremlins, and I thought, “Aha!”
Toy Vault should pay me, really. My icon has sold so much of their merchandise over the years…