If you think I sound fakey-cheerful you'd be right. Now on with the pimpage!

[red_satin_doll]

1) Congratulations to the winners of otherworldlyric icontest Challenge 179 : dragonydreams, chic_c and pickamix (she made an Oz icon! Let's hear it for neglected Buffyverse characters!)

Deadline for Challenge 180 is tonight August 8 at midnight.Like, an hour from now. As of two days ago there were no entries so hopefully....?

2) Tonight is also the deadline for slayerstillness Challenge 29, "The Freshman". You're welcome. Speaking of, I never did thank tempertemper for the lovely banner to go with my Mod's Choice award for slayerstillness Challenge #27. I love the how the warm burgundy-red-brown tones compliment colors of Dawn's hair and Buffy's mouth, which I had barely noticed until I saw it framed this way - indeed, how well it compliments all the other winning icons in that round. The translucent quality reminds me of very fine, handmade marbelized art paper. And the simple red border around the icon emphasizes the intimate nature of the crop but also emphasizes the emotional "claustrophobia" of the situation for both the Summers sisters.

Here's all of my entries that round;the only ones I'm really pleased with are the Buffy&Dawn and the Beer Bad icons. I particularly liked crop on the Beer Bad icon. It and the Anne icon I entered were meant to be deliberately anti-hairporn, in terms of "pretty hair". I had just got done with the Vamp Willow project and wanted to play with some unglamorous imagery for fun. (And of course, a return to Buffy was pure playtime for me.)

My special shout-out to an icon that didn't win is rua1412's Angel icon #8, which is so, so pretty I had to snag it. Yes, I snagged an Angel icon - and the world did not end. Wonders. Speaking of Angel,

3) dragonydreams has posted btvs_hush Challenge 280, "Angel" (the character, btvs imagery only). Y'all know I'm not so much into the wood but I gotta admit, the third image for challenge B is kind of dynamic and I can see doing something fun with that, if I had the time. (Or I could catch my breath from laughing because - image #1. The tai chi in dress trousers. I'm just sayin'.)

Although now that you mention it, the eyeliner...?

DO NOT look at me on any of these, I am not pulling anything out of the trapdoor for this one or or anything else until I get my Tara set finished for btvsats20in20. Okay?  (I'm hoping to finish by Monday BUT...I've been riding waves of "hey, I have a neat idea!" alternating with "I suck. Tara, sweetie I'm so sorry. And my new bifocals hurt my eyes until I can't see a damn thing, my neck aches and dear god WHY did I think this was a clever idea why will no one stop me? I have got to get a job do I have enough money to pay the September rent? And why oh WHY did I think having my mother come to visit for a week was going to be a good idea? Me her and my sweetie in the same house together for a week? JFC on a cheese cracker when will I get a lick of sense?" And various sundry items and pretty little bits and bobs of self-loathing of that sort. Fun.)

4) Speaking of btvsats20in20, check out tempertemper's wonderful Cordelia Chase entries for Round 3! (And don't forget to check out the other entries this round- stop by to say hi, and share the love with your friends!)

starry_night has very kindly extended the deadline at my request to the 12th. I hope not to need it but...I've said that one a time or two before haven't i?

And now off the 'puter and onto bed - these bifocals are killing my eyes, for realsies.

Comments

[velvetwhip.livejournal.com]

You are awesome and funny and fabulous and talented. Just thought I'd say that since you really need to start believing it.


Gabrielle

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

*gorges on frosted confidence cakes*

(more, please?)

[rua1412.livejournal.com]

I'm making grow your Angel's love YAY me!!! GRIN

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

I also snagged a Bangel pretty from bangel_4e that I just HAD to have. *points to icon*

[bangel-4e.livejournal.com]

YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

I'm just a PM away. I will offer lots and lots of hugs and much much love!

Your kindness is such an gift! thank you ever so much, truly.

I am feeling a bit better because I finally talked to my sweetheart about what was bothering me, it gave us an opportunity to bond and reconnect, even if nothing is 'fixed'.

[teragramm.livejournal.com]

Congrats on the mods choice. The icon is lovely, I love the crop, the coloring and the sentiment.

Although now that you mention it, the eyeliner...? It's not just eyeliner....it's evil eyeliner!

I'm sure your Tara entries will be wonderful! *Fingers crossed* that things start to get better in your personal life.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

It's not just eyeliner....it's evil eyeliner!

*LMAO*
Good morning Cinncinnati, here's your morning chuckle to start your day off right!

Thanks muchly for the good wishes, dear!

[teragramm.livejournal.com]

Haven't you ever noticed that when Spike or Angel (especially Angel) are evil, they are wearing eyeliner? I always get a kick out of that.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Haven't you ever noticed that when Spike or Angel (especially Angel) are evil, they are wearing eyeliner? I always get a kick out of that.

Oh hey, now that you mention it...is that also true on AtS (which I haven't seen)? I assume there's some silliness behind that, "Vampires are amoral and don't care about the usual human rules of behavior - ergo, they feel free to wear eyeliner! EVIL!"

[teragramm.livejournal.com]

Is that also true on AtS (which I haven't seen)? I'm not sure, I haven't seen a ton of AtS episodes.

I assume there's some silliness behind that, "Vampires are amoral and don't care about the usual human rules of behavior - ergo, they feel free to wear eyeliner! EVIL!" I always assumed that it was a make up choice, decided by the higher ups to drive home the point that they were evil. Kind of like the bad guys wearing black hats.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

But there's also an inescapable "gendered" aspect - & a hint of homophobia - beyond the "punk rebellion" look of putting makeup on a man, that I think is completely unintentional on the part of the writers, but the links to frivolousness/frippery/femininity/evil or amorality and makeup is quite old, older than the French Revolution, when the critics of the ancien regime used that as the basis for a critique of the nobility.

And I think it still lingers - the fact that wearing eye pencil can still be seen as an act of rebellion seems absurd to me.

[teragramm.livejournal.com]

And I think it still lingers - the fact that wearing eye pencil can still be seen as an act of rebellion seems absurd to me. I have very large eyes and have always felt that if I don't wear eyeliner my eyes look too "frog like". So instead of thinking of my eyeliner as a cosmetic solution to my "frog" eyes, I should think of it as a rebellion. I like that! ~_^

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

I should think of it as a rebellion.

Exactly!

[snogged.livejournal.com]

Love you, sweetheart! Good luck with your Tara entries.

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Thanks muchly, dear!

[spikesredqueen.livejournal.com]

Congrats! That is a beautiful icon!

[red-satin-doll.livejournal.com]

Oh gosh thank you!