I remember people used to use big gifs. Like, sometimes they (and I) would even use the gif function on Tumblr to find gifs of their FC. And sometimes if there was text on the gifs you'd just tell your RP partner to ignore it. I never really minded that, tbh. Sure, icons and gif icons are more aesthetically pleasing. But to me, that's not what RPing is about. The images are just an addition, a way of helping the other RPer see what your muse looks like. (Or at least as close as you can get it.) For me, RPing is all about the writing.
I feel like when I first joined Tumblr, there was less of a focus on aesthetics, and more on writing. Which I loved. Not that people don't care about the writing now, obviously people do. Or I'd have 0 followers, because I suck at graphics lol. But tbh, I do miss when aesthetics didn't matter at all. Just as someone who doesn't really care about them to any great extent. Sure, they're nice. And if someone wants to do it, by all means, they should. But imo, it shouldn't be nearly as important in the RPC as it is. But that's just me. If I was any good at it, maybe I'd feel differently. But I'm not...so....yeah.