Tsunami of Polls: We moved back into the restored apartment....

[red_satin_doll]

......and my first "official" act in fandom was to:

[Poll #1965322][Poll #1965322]

And the correct answer is....


#5! Yup, a massive, massive fail on my part.  Actually, all of the choices represent a massive fail on my part, except for the last choice for which I DO NOT APOLOGIZE.
(She was mentioning how a character in her new novel has an opportunity to mindwipe the memories of another and doesn't because he respects her too much and it's not what she would want. Also, she just began watching btvs S1 at my urging and is NOT impressed with Angel or Xander. At all.) I actually spent hours making icons for slayerstillness challenge #22 "A Room Full of Emptiness" (Negative Space)" ("Ooh, I can do this one!"); hours dithering over which to chose before deciding to actually ask my beta wickedbish for help; and then failed to send him the link to the Photobucket folder so he could actually see the icons. By the time I figured out my mistake, it was too late to enter the challenge. (And I'm a little pissed at myself, because I think I made some good icons and really enjoyed getting back into the creative flow for the first time in weeks.)

But at least I manage to vote as the deadline isn't until tomorrow (midnight your time) hence still time to vote and pimp it - so there's a penance, at least.

And entries are being accepted for the latest challenge #23 (deadline Friday) so there's lots o' time left to enter. Yup, lots o' time....

The only fail more massive is #4 - I have NOT gotten around to congratulating all the winners of the Willowy Goodness Awards, including velvetwhip, snogged, foxstarreh, clockwork_hart1, tiny_white_hats, and snowpuppies amoung others. Congratulations to all the winners (by which I include "Runners Up" aka the silver and bronze medalists). I actually did vote in that one too and cheese on a cracker did you folks make it painfully hard to choose!

ETA:  ALL credit to the amazing eilowyn for urging me to watch Orphan Black, which I'd never heard of until she mentioned it.

Comments

[eilowyn.livejournal.com]

*Shows up five hours late to the party*

I picked OB, because I know you and your sweetie watched the pilot together recently, but that was insider information.

The orgy sounds fun. kikimay has the cutest bras.

Orphan Black is everything Dollhouse and Ringer tried to be but not. I think the Canadians win this round.

I am delighted that elisi introduced you to Who's signature inter-species Victorian lesbian couple. They're very pretty together, aren't they?

You and kwritten make pretty icons, and it was fun listening in while you talk shop.

And I spoiled my friends for "Surprise/Innocence" because I thought "Angel loses his soul" was one of those widely-known pop culture things like "soylent green is people" and "Bruce Willis was dead the whole time." It was probably also mean-spirited on my part because I got sick of them sighing over Angel when I made them watch BtVS. Less justified than spoiling IWRY for righteous indignation reasons.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Is that an OB icon? I see OB gifs and icons in my future. BTW, I got my sweetie to watch eps 2 and 3 with me GO ME! (She confessed to me that drama/suspense shows like that make her physically jittery and she has no idea why. So we watched some Anthony Bourdain to relax afterwards.)

And holy SHIT - I'm so excited I've got to keep myself from spoiling it for anyone here who isn't watching it because I am SO HOOKED. Totally. It's a suspense/mystery/sci-fi drama with wonderful comedy interwoven into it. You win EVERYTHING for rec'ing it to me.

And you know I do not fall easily for male characters but Felix is LOVE. TOTAL LOVE.

One nitpick:

(*MILD SPOILERS*) the scene with Sarah and the psychiatrist in ep3? Pretty damn awesome on Sarah's end - my sweetie keeps saying "she's not too bright" but I'm continually impressed by how quick-thinking and clever she is. A smart girl who's probably been written off by the entire world (except Felix) and is now getting to really show everyone what she's made of.
But the depiction of the psychiatrist - or of the psychiatry and meds - kind of bugs because it falls in line with the trope I see a lot. (Even Ringer managed to avoid that one.) That docs mix meds and hand them out like candy, etc. I've never had that problem with the psychiatrists I've gone to; I have had it and seen it with my partner with regular docs for physical ailments. Everything else is gold though (Gah, that last scene in ep 3, what the HELL is that thing? Not who, what? Like a cross between an anime villain and a prehistoric leviathan rising from the mud.) /*END SPOILERS*

Somebody hand Tatiana an Emmy, please. Or a Golden Globe or SOMETHING.

And I spoiled my friends for "Surprise/Innocence" because I thought "Angel loses his soul" was one of those widely-known pop culture things like "soylent green is people" and "Bruce Willis was dead the whole time." It was probably also mean-spirited on my part because I got sick of them sighing over Angel when I made them watch BtVS. Less justified than spoiling IWRY for righteous indignation reasons.

Soylent Green is people? *LMAO*

I try to avoid spoilers because I've been spoiled in the past - in college my friend saw War of the Roses at the theater and HATED it, because it was totally outside of her life experience, so she spoiled it for everyone so they "wouldn't see it". Well of course I saw it eventually, and my mom took her then-boyfriend to see it as well. He was as shaken as my friend was. Mom and I just said to one another "Thank god we're not in that situation anymore." So I try to avoid spoiling things out of malice - with my friend I asked her permission and got her permission first to talk about IWRY (she knows the series Angel exists anyway - actually she's seen Dollhouse and Firefly but never the buffyverse); and it was in a specific context.

You will be interested to know that she is NOT amused by Xander, either, because she said she's known guys like that "who think that you should be in love with them just because they want you to." When I watched Season 1 I thought "Xander why don't you notice that pretty girl pining for you?" and she's thinking "Willow you can do SO MUCH BETTER."

I think my feminism might need a tune up. Or a major recalibration.

You and kwritten make pretty icons,

Thank you hon, but I'm nowhere near to her in that regard. Have you seen clockwork_hart1's latest icons btw? Works of art in miniature.

They're very pretty together, aren't they?

And you know, there's a teensy bit of discomfort in me about that - culturally we can only accept or depict lesbians if they are pretty enough to appeal to both genders - but that's overwhelmed by the fact that they exist and everything they are, by the fact that in college it was constantly assumed I was straight because I was "too feminine" to be a lesbian so I've been there myself, and also - bifurcated tongue! Samari swords! Gah. Being a feminist and a lesbian doesn't mean I'm blind.

See, I don't want to watch Doctor Who. I want to watch Vasta and Jenny. I want that series NOW.

[clockwork-hart1.livejournal.com]

Excuse me, just butting in.

I want to watch Vasta and Jenny. I want that series NOW.

WE ALL DO.

THIS IS ALL YOU NEED TO WATCH TBH

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rirju6is4Sw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I27kI31dhs

Tatiana needs all of the awards. All of them. (and I'll excuse the awful english accent because she is just that good an actress). And also point out that Felix has the most convincing accent I've ever heard and I would have sworn he was English. And yes, he is amazing. Love for Felix.

Have you seen clockwork_hart1's latest icons btw? Works of art in miniature.

Blushing! You are too nice and they aren't that good, but I am happy with my latest one. I took the Mary Morstan drinking tea icon and put it together with Alice Morgan from Luther doing the same thing, because classy murderesses drink tea, okay? And because they are my favourite people. One is a kitten-loving, utterly sweet and lovely former assassin and the other is an incredibly intelligent, sexy, certifiable (and, in fact, committed to a psychiatric hospital at one point) serial killer with utter respect (and protection) for those who impress her. They could take down the world.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

"Where would we be without you?" / "Quite some distance from a clue, one imagines."

*LOL*

and, I covet her hat. Just sayin'.

Is it just me or is the fact that the Inspector is more freaked by the fact that Vastra and Jenny are lesbians than the alien/prehuman/outer space aspects a deliberate meta commentary or what?

And now that I've seen those two and BLESS YOU and curse you for hooking me in because I want MORE, I want this series so much I want this and wonder WHY doesn't that exist? Sexy victorian ladies in leather? Smart, sexy Victorian lesbians? What is not to love here?

(and I'll excuse the awful english accent because she is just that good an actress).

Is it bad? I'll take your word on that. And wait, Felix isn't English IRL? Because he sounds exactly like the actors I recently saw in an indie film from the UK.

My favorite felix part so far is when he fans his face in ep 1 before opening the door to Victor and slapping Victor across the face - not to hurt him, just to be dramatic and play up the part and he is just so perfect all the time.

But it's interesting because he's the "sidekick" to the female protagonist and that's still unusual isn't it? Also unusual at least from my experience of tv (which is a tad outdated) that they didn't need to "tell me" that Felix is gay, I knew it immediately. It's who he is but it's not a "thing" to be shocked at or "deal with" either, it's just a fact. Which is how it SHOULD BE, IMHO.

And I already love Cosima after just one ep - and she's based on the real life science consultant for the show, which is very cool http://www.bbcamerica.com/orphan-black/videos/insider-meet-the-real-cosima/

"Sorry. I wanted to float that whole clone thing a lot softer." Aweseome.

Tatiana just plays the shit out of all these different people and that cannot be easy to make them all distinct and real and not just different stereotypes. My sweetie actually didn't recognize Tatiana as "the German" I had to point it out to her.

Tatiana needs all of the awards. All of them.

But does the same resistance to "genre" works still exist when it comes to voters that did when Buffy was on the air?

I wish I could see your icons better on my LJ - the one thing I hate is that it shrinks everybody's icons. You're doing some marvelous complex stuff with "collages" and overlays at the same time that I've never attempted; and I love your use of color; your palette is very distinct to you from anyone else's.

I took the Mary Morstan drinking tea icon and put it together with Alice Morgan from Luther doing the same thing, because classy murderesses drink tea, okay? And because they are my favourite people. One is a kitten-loving, utterly sweet and lovely former assassin and the other is an incredibly intelligent, sexy, certifiable (and, in fact, committed to a psychiatric hospital at one point) serial killer with utter respect (and protection) for those who impress her. They could take down the world.

Do I need to watch Luther? Because this intrigues me - a lot.

[clockwork-hart1.livejournal.com]

Tatiana's accent isn't great (at first I thought she was trying to do a New Zealand one - it wasn't until she was calling Fe her brother I realised she was supposed to be English). But Felix? I swear to God his accent is flawless - it's how I speak, it's not Cockney or overtly "posh", it's a regular London accent. I had to IMDB him after the first ep because I was like "how do I not know this young English actor... He's CANADIAN?? WHAT???" so that's that. (btw what indie film?)

Also Cosima !! I adore her. I'm not sure if the genre thing stands as strongly as before, and lots of people I'd never have expected have seen and loved the show. Plus cult stuff like comic book films are taking over the mainstream, but in critical circles I think there's a lot of snobbery (and snubbery, obviously). The same stands with animation, which can be utterly beautiful and affecting and is most certainly not just "kids stuff".

Is this better?



And thanks for saying I'm distinctive with colour (I assume you mean dark and grungy stuff? I like it to look a little weathered and frayed). But the effects I use really aren't that hard - if they were there's no way I could be playing with 'em.

BTW Mary is from Sherlock (and only s3), and I don't think you'd want to get involved in that mess of a show. The storytelling is great but the female characters are belittled a LOT (and I love them, I do - my favourite is currently a tough and sarcastic police sergeant called Sally who takes none of Sherlock's shit but is closely followed by a sweet, cat loving pathologist. I kinda maybe ship them a little) and it has so much queerbating with the male relationships it borders on disgusting - mostly because the head writer insists that they "aren't each other's type", and making a lesbian identifying woman become enamoured with Sherlock... It's a mess. I'm too far gone, I'm hooked, and entrenched in their relationships.

But Luther? Luther is an entirely different beast. Alice is the main antagonist but also the main love interest (and it is DELICIOUS), it's a very dark show centred on morality and personal demons as much as criminals and offers no easy solutions. There's an awesome (and later tragic) Father/Son dynamic with DI Luther and his younger friend and partner Justin Ripley - and later a very weird Father/Father/Daughter relationship with an old love rival and a teenage girl who has fallen into the sex industry. There's a lot that's questionable, and it even makes you question yourself as you watch because you can never tell if you're rooting for the angel or the devil. It is one of my favourite shows of all time (and only 3 series - they might be making a feature film as well, now that the show has been officially "closed"). I would recommend it, but it's very dark and often gory so if that doesn't float your boat. (there's also an unfortunate incident with a very cool female character in s1 *no spoilers, I'm trying hard okay* that does look like fridging (though her death makes sense in the storyline so it's not just shock value), but in later series it happens to a much larger and MALE character, so it's not as bad as it seems.)

Hell, I think it's a good show.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

I'm making a point not to listen to vids of the actor who plays Felix speak for the time being. Let me have the illusion for a little while!

And I admit I was really confused in the pilot as to where it was supposed to be taking place - I heard "train to New York City" but didn't realize it was supposed to be Canada until the end of the ep and the BBC credits. Is it supposed to be toronto? Back in the 1980's, Toronto was a "stand in" for stuff meant to be set in NYC. (Now NYC has more of a film/tv industry again of it's own. Besides. now that I've been to NYC, there's no way to confuse it with anyplace else.)

And the movie I was referring to was "Stud Life" http://www.studlifethemovie.com
The protagonist is a black butch lesbian photographer and her best friend is a gay man; they almost have a "bromance": "Mates before muffs". Of course, a little thing called love gets in the way...

T'nia Miller is ridiculously sexy as the butch protagonist....IMHO. *ahem*

And more about Cosima - I was snooping around the BBC site and found out she's a lesbian and my heart EXPLODED WITH JOY. My new favorite series with my newest favorite character and she's gay? (ok, it exploded yesterday thanks to Vastra and Jenny, so I had to pick up the pieces and glue it back together - and then it exploded again. Also, Tatiana talking about how they try to avoid making Cosima and Felix represent "the entire queer community" and just be regular people filled my heart with joy and the day is COMING very very soon when that won't even need to be said at all).

Is this better?

Yes it is! I've already stalked your user pics page - tis one of my newest hobbies. And by use of color I definitely meant your style is very much yours as distinct from kwritten's; and I love both "signatures". Given that I love antiques "worn and frayed" is something I appreciate.

Mary is from Sherlock (and only s3), and I don't think you'd want to get involved in that mess of a show.

My sweetie watched a couple of eps - I tried one and barely made it through. A WORLD of no.

making a lesbian identifying woman become enamoured with Sherlock.

THIS IS GROSS.

Hell, I think it's a good show.

That's available on Netflix and I've toyed with the idea of watching it several times but didn't know if it was good or not *Hastily adds it to must-watch list* the gory part does put me off a little so I'll have to see how it goes, but your rec helps!