Icon Meme from Lokifan & Kikimay (In which my efforts to be frivolous don't turn out as planned)

[red_satin_doll]

I've never done a fandom "meme" before but kikimay picked up one from lokifan  that I couldn't resist:

Comment on this post with CONVERSE. I will choose seven (five if you prefer) userpics from your profile and you will explain what they mean and why you are using them. Post this along with your answers in your own journal so others can play along.

FYI: The first sentence means that you reply by typing that word "converse" and then I choose 5-7 of your icons, which you get to explain in the comments thread. (For examples see lokifan's meme post - and yes, I had to ask how this worked.)

I tend to use icons in three ways: 1) to express mood, 2) to "pay tribute" to my favorite characters or episodes; Buffy is my favorite fictional character, hence she's my primary avatar; or 3) because the icon is artistic/aesthetically pleasing. I try to chose or make ones that I haven't seen elsewhere, or are overused images. Kikimay chose the following five from my own:

1) Laughing Dead Things:  One of the first BtVS icons I made; I wish I'd done a better job with it.. Most of my Buffy icons when Ifirst started my journal were very serious. I wanted something with Buffy laughing or smiling but also unique. Leave Me the White has screencaps from the outtakes or dailies of Dead Things, and the shot of Sarah breaking into laughter while trying to film the dream sequence is adorable. There are few things sexier than laughter. I also love the ironic contrast between that shot and the tone of the episode.

Full Disclosure: When I got internet service in my new apartment three weeks ago, I mulled over which Buffy episode to rewatch first. Something light and funny, perhaps, Life Serial, or....Oh who the hell was I kidding? It came down to two of my favorite episodes: "Who are You"and "Dead Things"; DT won by a hairsbreadth. The raw power of those two episodes, the way they parallel, bookend, and resonate with each other, including the similarity of the Buffy/Faith/Spike dynamics in each, the key role Tara plays in both eps, the literal or symbolic "identity hijacks", and the fact that WAY (and TYG) foreshadows S6 - is like nothing else I've ever seen on television. Frivolity, thy name is...not RedSatinDoll.

2) Tara does not approve: The official name for this one in my head is "Tara is not down with this shit." It shouldn't surprise you that Tara is the second most-frequent character in my icons.  (If it does: Welcome! Have a cookie and make yourself at home.) I found this one on www.fanpop.com by "Laurik 2007" ; it was one of the first icons I grabbed when I was setting up this journal. I needed an icon that expressed "strong disapproval" as opposed to "seething rage"; this image is strong and simple. It's also my reminder that Tara was more than just a "saint"; the fact that it's the scene in Tough Love just seconds before Glory attacks her gives it an unsettling quality as well.

AND WHILE WE'RE ON THE SUBJECT: Can we agree that Tara enduring torture at Glory's hands almost silently, sacrificing her life, her mind, to protect Dawn is one of THE most horrifying moments in the entire series? Dawn and Buffy protected Tara in "Family" and here Tara returns the favor many times over. That is true courage, full stop. Why isn't she more frequently honored and celebrated in fandom for this?

  3) Chosen One purple: valyssia made this icon and gave me permission to use; it's been my default icon ever since. I had to have it the moment I clapped eyes on it: love at first sight. Purple is one of my favorite colors, Buffy is my favorite character, I love the late seasons; but none of those would be sufficient of themselves. This is one of the most exquisite and artistic icons I've ever seen in every respect. valyssia is as talented a visual artist as she is a writer, and this icon is a masterpiece of the form.

4) Winged!Buffy: Like Chosen One purple, this doesn't express an emotion per se except my love of Buffy, beautiful fanart, and my gratitude for a delightful gift from a beloved friend. I've talked about this one previously, but long story short: comlodge made me the Winged!Buffy image as a gift, inspired by brutti_ma_buoni 's fic "The One With Wings" .  I made it the image on my "welcome" post, and then with her permission created an icon of it, lightening the colors slightly in the spirit of Bottecelli's Primavera (Spring).

5) Dawn and Buffy: One of my favorite icons of those I've made. I love the Summers sisters, and had high hopes for plenty of interaction between them in S7. That didn't pan out but Him is one of the episodes that gave me hope - it's basically about the two of them, and the scene at the Bronze is one of my favorites. The argument feels so real of an older/younger sister dynamic, and I thought Dawn was going to slap Buffy when she mentioned Joyce. The scene just hurts and I hurt for both of them.

A few months back I made several Buffy & Dawn icons inspired by my love for them but also by kwritten's amazing meta series on Dawn and subsquent conversations. I originally was going to offer this out to everyone in an "icon dump" but loved it so much I decided to keep it. I love the contrast of Dawn in the foreground but out of focus, furious; Buffy in the background but in focus, obviously frustrated with herself and the situation. It makes a nice pairing with a couple of other icons I've done of them from Bargaining. with the focus reversed:

Bonus (i.e. cheat): I'm using one of my other favorites of the ones I've made here, Buffy & Tara Bargaining. I wanted a Buffy & Tara friendship icon and this was the first image where I got both of them together and got the image to my liking.

Comments

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Whenever I'm down, some flapper classic will cheer me right up.

SING IT TO THE MOUNTAINTOPS.

I tried to like Bones, but failed. *sigh*

It was fun up until mid S3, and then the storylines became absurd, they introduced some REALLY annoying characters (that we're apparently supposed to love) and took away Zac Addison in one of the dumbest "you have got to be kidding me" plot twists I've ever seen. Worst of all they've been continually dumbing down the lead female character. That's the thing that really gets me.

But my sweetie likes it so we watch it together sometimes at night because Netflix viewing is one of our nighttime bonding past times and ways of relaxing before bed. Dumb fun I guess.

Have you seen the documentary "Alexandria"? We just watched it the other night; my sweetie fell asleep but I loved it.

[velvetwhip.livejournal.com]

the storylines became absurd, they introduced some REALLY annoying characters

I may not have experienced that with Bones, but I have with Major Crimes, so I feel your pain. I no longer even watch because of a new character who clearly shows that the long history the writers have of writing and casting strong, believable female characters is now history indeed.

Have not seen that documentary, no. I shall have to check it out.


Gabrielle

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

I no longer even watch because of a new character who clearly shows that the long history the writers have of writing and casting strong, believable female characters is now history indeed.

That's exactly what happened on Bones. (Which is why bone_dry1013 ended up rec'ing Crossing Jordan to me, Bones' grubbier predecessor. Which has it's own issues re: race and sexual orientation....American tv is just hopeless I think.)

"Alexandria" was released to coincide with the movie Agora, I think, and they use scenes from the movie, so the "recreations" have a much more sophisticated look than average. But it's Bettany Hughes who really made it exciting for me; I'd never heard of her before but she's apparently a historian, author and a scholar with degrees from Oxford University etc. She's such a passionate and engaging host and presenter. (And I will pretend that I didn't find her accent very sexy. Nope, not at all. *shifty eyes*) http://www.bettanyhughes.co.uk/alexandria-the-greatest-city

[velvetwhip.livejournal.com]

Well, if it is ever made available on Netflix, you might want to give The Closer (which was the predecessor to Major Crimes) a chance. Brenda Leigh Johnson is one of my favorite female characters of recent years. I won't say the show didn't have issues, but it shone brightly enough to make up for them for the most part. Plus, I have to admit to being a sucker for a show that featured a lead character owning a pet and not having that pet mysteriously disappear after two episodes.

*giggles about your wholly pure reasons for watching Bettany Hughes*


Gabrielle

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the rec! I remember seeing a couple of episodes in the cafeteria back when I worked at a casino a handful of years back. It's amazing to me what Netflix doesn't have but it all comes down to contracts, I guess, and the whole "gotta pay for the DVD service if you want to see..." thus and such. (I'm still bummed that I can't watch the third season of Nurse Jackie. I do like Kyra Sedgewick quite a bit; she was fantastic and intense as an abused wife in Rebecca Miller's Personal Velocity (2002).

One of the one good things about american tv in the last decade IMO is that there have been great roles created for women over the age of 30 and even 50; some of our greatest actresses are finding work there long after they've been abandoned by the movie industry.

Have you ever watched Damages? I haven't decided if I should give that one a try yet.

*giggles about your wholly pure reasons for watching Bettany Hughes*

I took up bonedry's rec entirely due to the crush I had (still have) on Jill Hennessey on L&O in the '90's. (She's gorgeous, funny, she just released her first album as a singer/songwriter/guitarist - and she's Canadian! Tres cool.)