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

[elisi]

Thought I'd post here as well as my journal, since you want everything in one place (which I can understand!) Let's hope it fits on one comment box...

1)
longlongtime by sdwolfpup

One of my very, very first icons. The text 'they felt like they'd lived a long, long time' is adapted from the book Wesley reads to Fred in AHiTW, the scene cutting to Spike and Angel:

She was such a little girl that one did not expect to see such a look on her small face. It would have been an old look for a child of twelve, and Sara Crewe was only seven. The fact was, however, that she was always dreaming and thinking odd things and could not herself remember any time when she had not been thinking things about grown-up people and the world they belonged to. She felt as if she had lived a long, long time.

So it's an icon I use when I want to focus on the age and history of Spike & Angel - or when I need a beautiful icon of a tree. I love how small they are in relation to it, and how you need to know the show in order to understand what the image is about.



2)
It's a good fandom by killmebecomemememe

Pretty much what it says on the tin. One of those 'I like my show' statements, which beautifully illustrates that just because it deals with a lot of problematic issues doesn't mean that it doesn't know right from wrong. Buffy might not be perfect, but neither is real life...



3)
Smile Fan by buttersideup

Now this one is one I picked up specifically because back in the day there were a lot of people who were angry about the very end of the show. Why did the Scoobies banter when so many had died? Why did Buffy smile when she'd just lost Spike? However, I always loved the smile, loved the fact that Buffy was free, that Spike's final gift to her was herself and her future, unfettered by destiny. She could live, again. (Also see Forget-me-not by the_royal_anna)



4)
Everything is connected by me

This one's... complicated. It's the cover of a Doctor Who tie-in novel. But not in the conventional sense - it's a book that appears in the show (written by one of the characters), but it is now a real book that you can buy and read (I'm currently reading it as a bedtime story to my two younger daughters, as it's a children's book). The book itself deals with a lot of the imagery and symbolism in the show (Moffat Who is all mirrors, dear god), but even more than that, the new paperback version has a new introduction, which ties in directly with one of the current (major) plot-lines. So - everything is connected. Kate Webster is a fictional character (in a book), created by another fictional character (on a TV show), and her adventures are referenced on the TV show... Stories within stories within stories. It's a maze and I love it.

[continued in next comment]

[elisi]

5)
Don't Mess with River Song by meathiel

My 'corresponding' icon on DreamWidth is this one, which I sort of like better, but they both do the same thing of neatly pointing out River's total and utter bad-assery. The icon is from S5, so at the time I didn't even know *why* she was so amazing - she just was. Mostly people should heed the warning on the icon, as no one lasts long if they come up against River. (River > known universe + all the rest)



6)
Time(Lords) can be rewritten by kathyh

This one is one I asked Kathy to make for me. It draws on the line 'Time can be rewritten' (Doctor Who is a show about time travel, and they explore all the possibilities in great detail), but applies it to the Doctor himself, as a lot of people had trouble adjusting to the differences between Ten and Eleven. So it's an icon I use when I need to highlight the differences between them, and how things have changed. And how that's OK. (The image comes from an official poster. I especially like Ten's seriousness, and Eleven's smile.)



7)
S7 love by cleapet (not sharable)

As one of the people to set up lateseasonlove (a shelter for those who liked the later seasons of Buffy and wanted a safe place), it's no surprise that I am fond of S7. Not that I am not enamoured of the dysfunctional nature of S6, but S6 is only half the story - it needs the relative calm of S7 to balance it. S6 breaks everything, and S7 puts in back together. Where Spike and Buffy burned and blazed in S6, in S7 they talk, they connect, they acknowledge that their bonds run far deeper than Buffy has been willing to admit until then - and she finally gives rather than takes. No love (not until the end) but something more important at that time: Trust, respect, belief. So yes, S7 has my heart, and I asked to be able to use this icon (which was made specifically for someone else), and was granted permission.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Funny I already replied on your journal before seeing that you'd duplicated your response here!

And thank you for taking the trouble btw! (also, I just followed your rec to kaybee's vid "Die Young" and then watched her Brave new world and BNW is the first fanvid to ever, ever make me cry. So thank you for the rec!)