red_satin_doll

Feb 3rd is the deadline to send nominations to

rwsawards, so it's your last chance to nominate your favorite authors and artists in buffyverse and SPN fandom. Check out the list of current nominees here.

I noticed that at the moment there is only nomination in the "My Marker" (best beta) category,

foxstarreh. It's possible that there are other nominations pending in that category but if you have a muse who has shaped your work to be the best it can be, by all means give them a little love with a nomination. Betas are unsung heros, serving as muses, editors, collaborators, teachers, sounding boards, task masters and selection committees.

I wanted to nominate

velvetwhip in this category for all the work she does as a beta for my icons and artwork, but she has already maxed out on the number of nominations she can receive. As well she should. But it's worth pointing out that art betas are just as eligible to be nominated in this category as writing betas. (And yes, I have confirmed that with

darkgoddessgege.) I am well-nigh certain that I'm not the only person using a beta-muse for help with my artwork because all artists (visual artists, writers, etc) need feedback. Art doesn't exist in a vacuum.

I am participating in the Snowflake Challenge (on Dreamwidth) for the very first time - or trying to at any rate. I've never been much good at these "Post something every day" challenges, so let's see how this goes! The image below is a "static" image btw, not a link to the site because I can't get the link-y version to work, so clicking it will get you nowhere fast. *le sigh*

Day 01

In your own space, talk about why you are doing the Fandom Snowflake Challenge? What drew you to it as a participant? What do you hope to accomplish by doing these challenges? Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

Ok this one is easy: I'm participating because it looked like fun last year, and because

velvetwhip encouraged me to do so this year. I don't think I mean to "accomplish" anything in particular except to see how many of these days I can actually cover. I usually avoid memes and daily posting types of things.

Day 2

In your own space, create a list of at least three fannish things you'd love to receive, something you've wanted but were afraid to ask for - a fannish wish-list of sorts. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your wish-list if you feel comfortable doing so. Maybe someone will grant a wish. Check out other people's posts. Maybe you will grant a wish. If any wishes are granted, we'd love it if you link them to this post.

This is gonna get slightly "political" so bear with me. My favorite part of this post is

akamine_chan's extremely astute observation: Asking for things is hard. We're socialized to not ask for things, and in a lot of ways I think that's not necessarily a good thing. We feel guilt and shame when we ask, and that makes us less likely to ask for help, for care and consideration and kindness, for respect, when we all deserve those things.I think this is spot-on.

I tend to think of this as an American tendency but perhaps it's a "modern" tendency - pull yourself up by your bootstraps. Be entirely self-sufficient. Don't admit to weakness. It's American "rugged individualism" writ large, but it's also useful to super-capitalism: instead of people living together in extended families we've been conditioned to believe that everyone living in their own "nuclear family" is the one right and true way to live. Everybody in their own home with their own tv, their own radio, their own computer and their own washing machine, etc means more stuff to sell, sell sell and keep the almightly GDP going. And even if you are receiving help or aid of some sort, we're conditioned to be ashamed of it, ashamed of ourselves as "failures".

ETA: A very very kind benefactor came through and granted my wish already with an extension of my paid account through 2018 AND even more icon space through the next year! I am just stunned and speechless beyond anything except to say THANK YOU to them. THANK YOU.

And thank you to everyone who I know would have done if you had the resources. I'm just overwhelmed by the love and support I've received here. And people wonder why I hang out in fandom.

And in keeping with the theme of being ashamed to ask for stuff, I do actually have one wish and this really makes me cringe to ask. The paid LJ membership that someone gifted me with a year ago expires on Jan 12; and I'm pretty sure that the extra icon space that someone else gifted me with will disappear on that date and I'll be back down to 6 icon spaces. I had assumed by this point in time that I would be working again and would be able to renew it on my own, but I simply can't justify even that small outlay when there are things like rent and groceries to cover. The only part of the paid membership I really do take advantage of is the extra icon gallery space. I feel really weird about asking if anyone would consider gifting me with another year's paid membership, but I that's exactly what I'm asking for. *gulp* I would be most grateful. (And please not at the expense of your own food, rent, etc.)

Barring that, some help in selecting and paring down my icons would be most appreciated. But I'll probably do a separate post on that as I haven't had time to think about what ones I would keep.

Beyond that, I always want more kindness and understanding towards Buffy Summers, and fics that don't portray her as simply the accessory for a supporting male character, or a stone cold bitch who exists only to be punished. I'm always on the look-out for more Buffy and Dawn fics that is about the sisters and again, not about a man in the center, and in fact 2015 saw some really wonderful Summers Sisters fic; so I'm hopeful that there's more of an appreciation of their relationship. I'm also hopeful that more folks are inspired by

velvetwhip's Answering Prayers and explore the character of Joyce Summers in ways that canon didn't bother to, and her relationship to her daughter. Spuffy fics that don't bash Willow or Drusilla? Yes please. Buffy and Tara friendship fics? Bring it on. Basically, anything that gives more face-time to the interrelationships of the women of the Buffyverse, not just for slashy porn and not to justify how "good" a male character is.

And I always wish for the various fandom factions and shipper factions to lay down arms, stop attacking each other, and see just how much we all have in common. We all want the same damn things for our beloved babies. We're all hurting over the things we were denied. Rather than attack each other, let's look for common ground - and attack TPTB who look down on fans with smug satisfaction and superiority whilst depending on us for their livelihood. 'kay?

...for her time, feedback, ideas, generosity, patience, gentle wit, marvelous penetrating insights and for her keen Eye (intangible, unexplanable, indispensible) and above all, for helping guide me to my very first 1st place award (!!) as well as 3rd place and Most Creative honors at slayerstillness Challenge 43; as well as a Mod's Choice's Award at whedon_elite Challenge 116.

That particular beta-Muse would be named velvetwhip, of course; and I dare say she will deny her fabulousness; don't believe her for a second if she does. I've been beta for my friends who are writers for years, but this time I've gotten to be on the other side of the give-and-take and it's a rich and and fulfilling working relationship.

Teasers for awards banners inside.

And it's an entirely mutual one; I've been "special pencil" for her marvelous Joyce-centric fic Answering Prayers, set in the summer between S2 & 3, and our many discussions on Buffy, Joyce and Giles during that period no doubt provided additional inspiratiion for my Helpless artwork. I love the cross-currents between us as two artists in different but complimentary media.

Congratulations to sweet_lyri, tempertemper , and starry_night - three of my favorite fan artists and wonderful people, they are all well-represented in my userpic gallery - for their wins at slayerstillness and whedon_elite. And may we have a big round of applause for tempertemper's phenomenal banners? I just about died of happiness when I saw these:

Two of my goals for the year: Win first place at slayerstillness - check. (Best Color, I've got my sights on you.) Earn more awards banners made by other artists by which i mostly mean tempertemper - double check. And these are simply beyond perfect aren't they? Artwork like this makes me wonder why there aren't awards categories for "Best Awards Banner" because these truly are works of art.

The direct inspiration for my first place winner was clockwork_hart1's gorgeous Buffy S4 icons (#11-12) and her experimentation with light, blurs and motion. For the other icon I started with Buffy's profile in the hotel room where Kralik has taped multiple polaroids of Joyce, then did multiple versions layering her with Giles, Joyce and Kralik, inside her silhouette but ended up chosing this one. I really like how the patterns of the library books and the polaroids echo one another, sublty hinting at and reinforcing the connection between the two.

Banners by tempertemper. (Now if only I can get her and other banner makers to remember to sign their work...)

I stayed with Helpless for my whedon_elite entries when I finished the SS set and realized there were other images I still wanted to play with. Thank you fassy for the Mod's Choice honor! The specific inspiration for this icon and my Cordy one were kwritten's Artist Choice set for Round 7 of btvsats20in20, "The Freshman (Buffy)" although I've admired her way with delicate layers and textures for three years. Once again velvetwhip deserves a thunderous round of applause for her beta-Muse-ings:

Banner by yours truly; check out the banners for starry_night and sweet_lyri here. The base image is a photo I took a couple of afternoons ago of daffodils in my yard because they especially suited the "Springtime" theme of the challenge.

Recently

tempertemper said she was taking a page from my book and promoted icontest voting specifically

otherworldlyric and

slayerstillness. I have to admit I had already stolen that book from

velvetwhip, who tirelessly promotes fandom activity of all sorts; but I'm very glad to be part of the chain. Shall we call it a library book and simply pass it around?

tempertemper also made a wonderful point about supporting icon/art communities that I think can't be said often enough. There are so many people in this fandom and so few voting at art competitions. As a visual artist I of course vote at fiction contests but I think writers oftentimes feel shy or uncertain about voting in art contests. Maybe a grade school teacher made a cruel remark about one's abilities. Maybe one has heard one too many "experts" insist that you have to have a particular sort of education in order to be able to "understand" art. This really shouldn't be so - art belongs to everyone and we all live, breathe, take in visual images every day. We are all incredibly sophisticated and well-educated simply by dint of exposure.

So in that spirit, here are some worthy art challenges in need of your vote:

Banner by moi for character20n20

slayerstillness Challenge 43 "Helpless" Wonderful work and one of my favorite buffyverse episodes - how do the entries end up so often looking go great and of a piece with one another as a group? I'm side-eyeing at least one or two in a "I don't know who made this but back off because I WANT this one" kind of way. *lol*

**

otherworldlyric Challenge 200 "Working for the Weekend" I really have to thank

tempertemper for bringing this one back to my attention. Some of my first awards were in this comm but I have not participated in a while, and have been very remiss in terms of voting and promoting it. This comm is also one of the most overlooked in terms of participation overall, which is a shame.

**

whedon_elite Challenge 116 "Spring Time" My love of the sepias and desaturated tones is well-known but it's nice to try something different and really welcome springtime in bright, light tones; the really interesting challenge is to come up with something "pretty and light" that also carries emotional weight. It's been a long, hard winter this year, hasn't it?

Finally, speaking of springtime, congratulations to all the winners of Round 68 of

character20n20.

setentpet asked meto make banners for those who had requested it:

roseemrys,

punk4life1315 and

spikesredqueen, and the gorgeous clear, springtime colors and the change of season inspired the colors and design of my banners. I indulged myself in a tie for Banner Maker's Choice:

spikesredqueen and

x_lostinthesun. Check them out here. I used a photograph I took in 2013 of roses in my landlord's yard as the base.

What it says on the tin - but the tin doesn't say it all. Several folks I am tremendously proud to call friends are amoung this years winners: Gabrielle (

velvetwhip),

snogged,

spikesredqueen,

rua1412,

dragonyphoenix,

snickfic,

snowpuppies,

brutti_ma_buoni,

punch_kicker15. I am so proud and pleased to not only call these folks my friends, but to know that good work is being recognized and honored. It gives one hope. Congratulations to all the winners and a big round of applause to

dragonydreams for running the awards year-in, year-out.

Any of of the stories on the winners and nominee list by the abovenamed authors would be well worth your time. Yes, yes I am biased:

velvetwhip's "Civilian" and "In The Shadow of the Dead",

snowpuppies "Memory" and "Try",

punch_kicker15's "Truly Missed the Boat" ,

brutti_ma_buoni's "A Half-Formed Thing",

snogged's "Passion (Rules Us All)", and...well I'll leave you to discover your own personal favorites. Don't forget to check out the nominees list as well!

Most of these categories were difficult to vote in (I had a few favorites, of course) but few more so than the art category ("Best Photo Manipulation or Layout".) How in the WORLD to choose between

spikesredqueen's heartbreaking WIld at Heart - Animal Way and

rua1412's lush, wildly sensual Willow/Angel banner? I came very close to asking

dragonydreams "Do you allow tie votes, pretty please? Can't I chose both?"

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS OF SUNNYDALE MEMORIAL AWARDS ROUND 30 (just a teensy bit belatedly). Check out the entire winners list here with beautiful banner artwork by

pickamix and

dragonydreams. (I complimented Megan on the art a while back, especially regarding the gorgeous richness of the blacks; her image of Joyce/Kristine Sutherland is especially swoonworthy. As per usual, she shrugged off the compliments.)*

As always a big round of applause for all

dragonydreams' work - more than "work" it's part of the connective tissue that keeps this fandom alive and vibrant.

Special kudos to my friends who were honored:

velvetwhip (Gabrielle),

snogged,

beer_good_foamy,

clockwork_hart1,

kikimay for her first English-language fiction award,

gillo,

snowpuppies,

angelus2hot, and

spuffy_luvr!

My personal "Voter's Choice award for a story this round that didn't win an award and is NOT by someone on my flist": "Love is Blind" by Avalon. I wasn't familiar with the author or her work prior, but I was actually disappointed to see it didn't win an award. If I must read "soulless redemption Spuffy" fics, then please let them all be as superbly written as this one.

Deaadline for the Sunnydale Fanfiction memorial awards Round 30 is SUNDAY NOV 30. The nominees slate is here; voting form here.

btvsats20in20 has a part 2 tie breaker post for round 5; only two to vote for this time,

tempertemper and

pickamix.

I'd say something eloquent or clever but it's 2 in the morning, folks, and I just spent one final hour pouring over my choices at SunnyD. So get over there and vote if you haven't already, 'kay?That is all.

Title courtesy of the lovely and witty

pickamix who asked me to do just that for two new comms:

pimp

b_verse_pub|Profile|

b_verse_pub

secret_slaying

b_verse_pub, "an oddly polite Buffyverse hangout"for polite and friendly discussion of the Buffyverse (no flames, no rudeness, and no trolls, open to all (and check out the amazing pub graphics)

and

secret_slaying, an anonymous BtVS/AtS TW challenge/awards comm that accepts work in all media (text, images, videos) made specifically for the challenge. Round 1 prompts are up and due December 15. Guidelines and prompts here, detailed rules are here ; incredible graphics also by

pickamix and

shaketheangel. (LOVE the banner that looks like a cork push-pin board.) Like icontests such as

otherworldlyric, the entries will be voted on anonymously, unlike any contest I've seen so far, (fr'instance the SunnyD Memorial Fanfiction awards, etc) works in all media are accepted, so check it out!

And speaking of the Sunnydale Memorial Fanfiction Awards and

otherworldlyric....... (How did you know I'd work them in somewhere?)

* Voting open at Round 30 of Sunnydale Memorial Fanfiction Awards until NOVEMBER 30th; list of worthy nominees for your consideration here and the Rules here. Full disclosure: I'm still combing through the awesome stories; it's a great opportunity as always to check out fics I might have missed otherwise. Or have been tripping over for months and never got around to reading and how the heck did that happen, I wonder to myself?

* Vote for your favorite 3 icons out of 11 fab entries at

otherworldlyric Challenge 187, then get your entries ready for Challenge 188: The Love You Save May Be Your Own by Etta James (the Lioness! A little bit of Etta makes everything betta.)

* Vote now at

slayerstillness Challenge 35 Least Favorite Eps challenge for 1st and 2nd place (no 3rd place this round) plus Best Crop, Colour and Most Creative. I have a ton of admiration for fanartists who can take an episode (or character) they hate and not only spend quality time with it but turn it into gold, as the 11 entries this round are.

Then prep your entries for Challenge 36 "Ye Olde Vampyre Gang" dedicated to flashbacks of the Fanged Four pre-Sunnydale.

starry_night helpfully provided a list of all btvs & ats episodes with fanged four flashbacks plus some sample caps to choose from. I'm expecting awesomeness to the nth degree.

But first things first: The deadline for slayerstillness Challenge #35 "Least Favorite Eps" has been extended for one more week as only six entries have been received so far. So you still have a chance to spend quality time with an episode you dislike, hate, loath, and despise with the white-hot fury of a thousand Apocalypses - or at least feel a strong sense of indifference towards.

Second things second: THANK YOU to everyone who voted and gave me my very first "place" award at slayerstillness! (I'm still astonished by the win - but I'll take it, and thank you! And congratulations to tempertemper, teragramm, stepinsidelove and pickamix for your incredibly gorgeous entries. When I saw the caps starry_night provided as inspiration for this round I knew we were all in for a treat but even I didn't imagine how much so.

The rest of the banners and fantastic winning entries, including the full-size version of #3 can be seen here:

01-02

More banners and icons inside the gallery:

Also thank you to the folks who voted for my other entry as "Most Creative" ! My inspiration was

mercurialdragon's brillant Xander icon for the Provided Texture category from Round 1 of

btvsats20in20:

My second entry and Xander Icon by mercurialdragon

Click images below for full-size:

Illyriabitchbanner3_ssround34_360high_zps6871ac55

04-05

#1-2, & 5-7) The grunge textures in #1 are from a built-in setting in ipiccy; the bright light and pinkish coloring are from a photograph I took of a local sky/cloudscape that I used as a layer. I adjusted saturation and brightness on the original sky photo until it was a very artificial pink and blue; but lowered the opacity for the layer here to preserve the color and light but lose the actual details of the clouds and then adjusted the color temperature. (#5-7 below)

The font is "Condiment", three layers make up the award categories and artists' name; the two lines below have two layers each. This is the first time I put the date on the banners and I think I'll continue doing so in future if no one minds.

#4-5) #4 was the first Illyria fanart I've ever done;the icons came afterward. It's no derogation on my part when I say that I feel my best energy and creativity went into the banners. Most of the shades of blue, the detail of red on the swords and breastplate (happy accidents btw) and the brushstrokes are from a photograph I took of one of my sweetie's still-life paintings. I used a section of the painting and enlarged it over the banner as a layer. Then I used the "woodgrain" banner I made for Challenge 33 as the layer by turning it on it's side and stretching it out a great deal for the pale, almost pinkish vertical texture across the image (detail):

comlodge's stunning Illyria artwork, especially "To Destroy A God", was certainly the subconscious inspiration for many of the design elements.

The font is once again "Condiment"; there are four layers of font to Illyria's name: two set on invert then overlapping each other to get the golden outlines, then two overlay layers, white and ice blue, set inside the outlines and atop each other. #4 is lacking that last layer of ice blue font overlay and the text isn't as bright without it. There are only (hah) three font layers to the lines of text above and below the name. "Intergalatic diva bitch runway god" is a joke I made to

starry_night when I was looking at the provided screencaps: When you walked into the room / You had everbody's eyes on you... I've never seen her in AtS but even in the stills she comes off as the ultimate diva. Click banners below to see full-size:

05-06

07-08

09-10

11-14

** Pirate Bride

snogged returns to the world of fanart after an extended hiatus with this: "Mr Gunn Will See You Now" ("Fifty Shades of Gunn") a Gunn/Willow banner that is incredibly erotic. To call it "yummy" almost sounds dismissive; "perfectly scrumptious" works better. And yet, it's pretty much worksafe. (Unless a pretty lady in lingerie and a bare leg is a no-no in your office. Or implied interracial shipping. Or looking at fanart or anything not related to work and really, is this the kind of workplace you want to be in?) I've never considered that pairing but looking at her banner it suddenly seems perfectly right. Where's the faction for this ship? And, tell me again why m'lady has been away from fanart and denied us these lovelies for so long?

** Working in the Key of Light: Happy birthday to

pickamix, who started things off by giving all of us a gift: "Light Willow". A total turnaround aesthetically from a Mistress of the Dark Art(works): astonishing, unexpected and gorgeous. I'm kind of beyond words here because everything about it could have been, in lesser, hands, cliche - the butterfly wing texture; in her sure hands, nothing here is cliche, all of it is absolutely, meltingly lovely. It was the second thing to greet my eyes Sunday morning, after a proper cup of tea, and I began to tear up. Then I simply sat with it, studied it, took it all in - the way Willow emerges from the light, the way the texures wrap around her, embrace her. I could go on all day about it.

****

What unites these two artworks in my mind is their shared elegance: visually clean, uncluttered, nothing out of place. Simplicity of composition that belies the work that surely went into making both of these. Both of these have room to breathe and yet the composition in each one directs your eye exactly where the artists want it to be. You can roam around, you can go deeper (I can study these for quite some time to suss out the subtle, almost hidden layers), but your eye is not likely to fall off the canvas. That takes a sureness of touch that comes with talent, yes, but also intellegence and conscious practice of the craft. There's no way around it.

The presence of negative space in both goes a long way towards achieving that elegance; and this is a quality I need to study and learn from. My sweetie once described my writing as "too much velvet" for her taste. Too many adjectives, too much description, too much verbiage in general. And I find myself doing the same thing with artwork, especially now that I'm discovering layers and textures and oh boy is it easy to fill up the spaces and just because I can doesn't mean I should. Knowwhatimean?

****

Yesterday I thought to myself that if I were a fic author and received either of these artworks as a banner to go with a story I'd die of happiness, aka jump up and down and grin and hug myself uncontrollably. Silently, in my chair, so only I would know. (Ok, the grinning and hugging would actually happen. The jumping would be entirely mental but it would be intense.)THEN I'd show them off and say "Look what I got, y'all!"

But of course, I'm not not a fiction author, and not much of a writer at all, currently....

And then LOOK WHAT I GOT, Y'ALL!

"....yellow is the color of intellectual energy, positivity, but also jealousy and illness and in the yellow shirt there are birds flying (freedom) except that you go on and see the shape of the knife buried in the flesh and all the blood spilling. It's broken freedom and innocence lost...."

kikimay not only snagged my "There Once was a Girl" icon for her default icon, which is an honor all by itself; she wrote an analysis/interpretation of it! MY ARTWORK HAS BEEN META'D! And of course her commentary is as intelligent, concise and elegant as her prose. I always imagined I'd be writing the meta about someone else's work, never the other way around. Eventually I decided I wanted to provide the pictures to compliment for other people's words, instead of asking other people to provide them for me. (And at that point I knew

velvetwhip would be the ~~first~~ second recipient. it had to be her. ETA: clockwork_hart1 was actually the first person I made a banner for. Mind like a sieve over here.)

Now Kiki has provided the words to compliment my picture and so it goes. And this is addition to the honor of a Mod's Choice Award at

slayerstillness. The little icon that could.

I died of happiness....

...but then I came right away back because I've got to finish my set for Round 4 of

btvsats20in20, which is due Sept 27th. Have you seen the awesome entries so far by

spikesredqueen,

sweet_lyri,

pickamix, snowpuppies,

teragramm,

killing_kurare, and

oh_cheezit? Plus I needed to cast my vote on the current challenge of

slayerstillness, which I missed the boat on entering; therefore, doubly important that I participate as voter.

It's nice when we the artists vote for one another but there ARE MORE THAN 15 PEOPLE IN THIS FANDOM. I know there are. And if you can't or don't want to make icons, by all means vote. Your opinions count and don't let "Well I don't know anything about art" nonsense (because of some stupid thing your parents or your fifth grade teacher told you as a child) hold you back. YES YOU DO KNOW ABOUT ART. Of course you do! You're surrounded with it, you've taken it in your entire life. It's no different to voting in the Sunnydale Memorial Fanfiction Awards even if you haven't written any works of fiction yourself.

My sweetie has a classmate in art college ten years ago who was a wonderful artist (pastel was her preferred medium and she could make a pastel painting look like it was done in oils), and just the sweetest person imaginable. One of their professors told her in class, in front of everyone, that she "lacked artistic intelligence". Need I describe my feelings towards this arrogant jackass in minute detail or can you just pick up the vibe of my loathing?

We all have "artistic intelligence". We just need safe space to practice it and express it, as artists and appreciators. (Without people to appreciate, there is no point!) I can say without hesitation that participating in icontests, and thanks to the wonderful community of folks here, I've been pushed farther and faster just the last six months than I could have imagined possible. And I haven't even begun to skim the surface of what's possible.

But I've gone on long enough, Gentle Reader: goest thou and vote, create, offer feedback and share the love - do your part to keep this fandom alive and lively. What medium of expression have you not explored, or are just beginning to? What holds you back? What ideas do you have for bringing new excitement to this fandom and what about it continues to excite you and keeps you interested?

* Congratulations to the winners of

btvs_hush Challenge 278

rua1412,

xclaire_delunex, and (a new name to me)

stepinsidelove! Entries for Challenge 279 are due TOMORROW August 5 and according to

dragonydreams there will NOT be an extension this round. (Many thanks to

pickamix for the heads-up on that fact.) So there's still one day to come up with something if you're quick and clever (and decidedly not me).

*

bangel_4e has posted her entries for Round 3 of

btvsats20in20, "Buffy Summers". I knew she'd come up with something to do Buffy proud and oh my did she ever. *This is me quietly resisting throwing in the towel...for the love of Tara I plod onward and I am really really overthinking this*

*

scribesds is looking for new members and feedback on the future of

writers_toybox, a comm for fanwriters looking for beta help, prompts, wanting to talk about writing etc. The comm has been primarily but not soley B/A-oriented up until now. Should it stop being a B/A community? Open up to other fandoms? Become a general writing forum? WHAT SAY YOU?

* A very happy birthday/week/month/year to - lots of people on my f'list (in no particular order):

ruuger,

clawofcat,

st_salieri,

darkgoddessgege,

zanthinegirl,

kerkevik_2014 (Ray),

blackfrancine,

sweetiepebbles,

ozma914 (Mark ~~Fields~~ Hunter),

bradcpu, and who am I missing? I apologize for the wishes en masse but people just keep gettin' born! I hope it was filled with something much nicer than heartache, misery, a boyfriend's soul going kablooey and an animated arm in a box. Unless any of that's your cup of tea.

norestforthewickednomineebuttonbyangelus2hot

The nomination period for Round 11 of the

wicked_awards is OPEN through August 1st - and I know this because a dear, precious little bird informed me that she had nominated two of my artworks: Prodigal Daughter in "Under Your Spell (Best Banner)" and "Guess Who? (Let a Smile be Your Umbrella - Vamp Willow)" icon from Round 2 of

btvsats20in20 in "Something to Sing About" (Best Icon)!

And someone else (I know not who) nominated my poster** for

clockwork_hart1's fic "Conclusive Etymology of a Summers" in the Banner category!

WOW! and THANK YOU!

I'll let my first benefactor reveal themselves publicly only if they wish, but I know - and I like knowing. In the second case, I have a short-list of suspects but nothing definitive, so my gratitude rides a warm embrace through the air to Whomever-You-May-Be.

I'm just - WOW. I never expected this. In the art categories? SERIOUSLY?

Two years ago if anyone had told me I'd be nominated in any awards for fanart, not meta or even fiction category, my reaction would have looked something like this:

Then like this:

And then asked what the real punchline was. Because I was going to be all writerly and, you know, write meta and stuff. My sweetie is/was the "visual artist" as a painter and sculptor; that's her territory, not mine. She's the "artist" in the family. Or that was the idea anyway. Making fanart wasn't even on my radar. (I hadn't even made a single icon since I'd wandered away from Moulin Rouge fandom a few years ago.) So this feels strange and a little surreal, in the best possible way.

It's also sweet because the nominations are coming from people whose work I respect and admire so much, in a fandom filled with amazing artists; (and because RL has been a bit on the sucky side lately. 'nuff said.) This is just a lovely surprise all around. THANK YOU again to the souls who nominated me and to everyone here who has welcomed me so warmly and openly, and supported me with friendship, encouragement, advice and tutoring.

These are happy tears:

REALLY.

An extra-special thank you to kwritten, whose icons I so admire for their layered delicacy, for mentioning one day, off-handedly that she used ipiccy and had I ever heard of it? No I had not - but my work took a huge leap forward when I started playing with it. I know gimp and PS are more sophisticated and I will end up using one or the other no doubt, but ipiccy is free, user-friendly and similar enough to programs I've used before to transition away from Photobucket.

****

Three things I love about the wicked_awards (among many many things):

1) They have categories in Art, Music Video AND in Fiction. This is the only award I know of in this fandom that does.

2) The winners are decided by judges (the "Inner Workings" post is a great read, check it out) rather than popular vote. Not to diss one or the other but there is definitely room for both types.

3) Moderators

angelus2hot and

spankedbyspike are all-around wonderful human being and ever gracious. (Which has been true of every admin and mod I've encountered since coming to this fandom and to LJ, to be honest. You folks are a rare breed and deserve many kudos for your work.)

The nomination period ENDS AUGUST ~~1st~~ 25th - and I'm noticing a lot of empty spaces on the Nominee list. Remember that there is no limit to the nominations they accept in any category (unless it gets ridiculous, knowwhatimean?), ~~a person can be nom'd up to twice in any category~~ writers can only be nomm'd once per category, visual artists/vidders can be nomm'd twice per category *** (not including collaborative work) and DID I MENTION THE NOMINATION PERIOD ENDS SOON AND LOTS OF EMPTY SPACES ON THE LIST? You know what to do, Gentle Reader - make somebody happy - just make sure you real the Rules and Past Winners list first. If you're not certain, just ask the always helpful mods!

Along those lines, the mods not only welcome but encourage self-nomination. I did that last year with my Ted meta, which felt a little embarrassing at first but I got a pretty Runner-Up banner, and a few people saw my meta who might not have otherwise. Aside from the kudos and encouragement this is the point: to give people a chance to see, watch and read something that mightn't have crossed their paths otherwise. Sharing is Caring!

** I know "banner" is used for just about everything that ain't nailed down when it comes to fanart, but I like the term "poster". PS: the Etymology poster I swore I would always love instead of just seeing the flaws ten years down the road? Two months later, I'm already seeing the flaws and what I woulda/coulda/shoulda have done better. Durn it.

***ETA:

angelus2hot gently corrected my errors re: nominating period and number of noms per category: a masterclass in graciousness, that's what I'm talking about.

1) One of my dear friends gave me a paid account through 2016. (2016, y'all!) AND...

2) A second dear friend here in this fandom offered to extend my paid account and was ready to do so, AND...

3) Another beloved friend would if they could, AND....

I am really just stunned by the love and generosity of my friends here, I hardly know what to say except "THANK YOU." Thank you, thank you - and there WILL be polls, I swear! I will take advantage of that feature! (And I don't have to give up any of my userpics! *flings confetti*)

When I first got into this fandom a couple of years ago I wished that I was "part of the crowd", or that I'd been in fandom "back in the day" thinking I'd missed something. No. I'm right where I need to be when I need to be. It's not about being part of a "clique", it's about clicking with people because we like and respect and love one another. I'm really not sure how I've been lucky enough to find so many wonderful friends here - who are as "real" to me as any so-called "real life friends"; you ARE my friends, full stop.) But I'm ever so grateful to have found my way here.

I wish I could pay this forward to someone else and feel mortified that I'm unable to now. Especially for two of my lovely homegirls kikimay (who has a basic account and would like a paid account) and clockwork_hart1 (whose gift account will be expiring very soon.) Since I can't do myself, perhaps someone else can?

BTW clockwork_hart1 casually mentioned that she wanted to write a meta about the Gift/Chosen and why she prefers Chosen as the ending to Buffy's story - and then posted it today, "The Hardest Thing in this World is to Live in It.". She's passionate and articulate and right-on; and I just want to pump my fist in the air and shout "YES!" As she said to me one time "I don't want Buffy's legacy to be the hole she leaves in the ground." This meta also goes into why female martyrdom as a plot device is deeply problemmatic. Go read it.

I AM ALSO CRYING BECAUSE....

4) I finally read velvetwhip's fic "Soft and Pink and So Very Sad" and it's one of the loveliest things I've ever read. Mr Gordo, post-The Gift. Gabrielle rec'd it to me as one of her own favorites and I'm glad she did. She should be proud of it, it's a heartbreaker. Grief and confusion, the ways our identity is tied up in someone else, but also powerlessness - it's a theme that the show often touches upon but Gabrielle's story takes it to the limit. This is how absolute helplessness feels, in the person of a stuffed pink pig. So ok, maybe not such happy tears with that one but more it feels good to cry, knowhatimean? (Euclid approves as well - he thinks she got Mr Gordon's voice exactly right. He's quite particular about such things.)

It makes an oddly appropriate thematic pairing with beer_good_foamy's S6 fic "Building Character" . Yes, it does. Read them both, then think about it a moment...I'll wait...See what I mean?

Current Mood: grateful

Where you are allowed to enter a bazillion (give or take) icons that are variants of a single image? Because that's one thing it turns out I'm pretty good at. (Or taking a single phrase or lyric and using it over and over with different images.)

Otherwise I'm just going to have to keep showing off my babies here for you kind folks, because I get an idea and it turns into a freakin' obsession - at least until the need for sustenance becomes too great.

All this talk of icons, editing platforms and fanart the last week, plus icontests and enjoying other people's work, ~~has made me hungry~~ got some thinky-thoughts a'flowin:

Imagine voting at any fanfiction awards site (WGA, SunnyD, RWSA, NRFTW, ~~NAFTA~~, AoLA, etc) where all the work is listed anonymously. I am of course excluding juried situations which are sometimes but not always "blind". (In many cases IRL, this may be as much to protect from biases for/against gender, ethnicity, color, etc.)

Can you imagine a list of fic nominees with titles and no authors listed? Of course not. I can't either. But we do it all the time - on a weekly basis in fact - at icon challenges.

In fact, on one level it might be argued that whenever we publish work using pseudonyms, screennames or what we oldsters used to call "pennames" ("keyboardnames"?), then those stories are de facto anonymous in the real world, but that's another conversation altogether. (Or is it? Anonymity and women not being given credit for their work has always been a feminist issue. Are we protecting ourselves by using pseudonyms in fandom, or just playing into larger cultural patterns? I suspect that's a discussion for another time but worth pondering.)

In the past I've been kind of a fiend to obey the rules of which clearly state that icons must not have been previously posted anywhere else, and we're not to let other people know which are ours. The icons are all posted without the creator's names to allow for "unbiased" voting, right?

I got so anxious about it I even teasingly mock-scolded one of my friends *cough*kikimay*cough* (poor woman!) on the subject. I tried to figure out how to make my icons "less recognizable" by not using certain fonts or framing devices, etc. This was especialy challenging with Photobucket, which has a primitive editing suite with a very finite number of choices. When anonymity was becoming a consideration over artistry in my choices, I realized it was becoming a problem.

I was also certain I was alone in my anxieties on the subject until I saw a comment by someone else in fandom, who makes beautiful icons the way I make breakfast for my sweetie - that is to say, on a regular basis - express concern that one of their icons was recognizable. As it happens, I have guessed some of their icons correctly on a couple of occasions; and other times I've assumed it was their's and got it completely wrong. No one person "owns" a particular character, color scheme, font or effect, as it happens, although we each have preferences.

Not that knowing or not knowing mattered to me. Did I vote differently because I thought I knew which icons this person did? No, of course not. I voted for the work in front of me.

More conversation - and icons - a'comin' . Here's a little appetizer:

I'm confident of this because quality of the work is paramont to me. It has to be. I've had occasion to be a judge or on selection committees since college for written publications, fandom awards, and independent film festivals, going back a couple of decades to college. I had to learn and am still learning to walk that tightrope of constructive criticism that is fair and impartial but doesn't lose sight of the fact that there is another person waiting anxiously for feedback.

That doesn't mean I get it right all the time, or even most of the time, but it's something I keep sight of pretty fiercely. When I've been a fiction judge or a beta, I may LOVE an author. They may be my dearest friend in the world - in fact, I've been Muse (beta) for several of my best friend's novels and at least one book of poetry for several years - or at any rate someone I trust, respect, treasure.

The fact of my feelings for them has to yet to win anyone a first place or even a runner-up award. Even when it comes to nominations, I'm not going to throw a name out there if I don't believe the work has sufficient merit.

And I expect the same in return because I trust the folks on my f'list to have enough taste, discernment, and intellegence to vote for the work, not for me. I trust that they are bringing all of their talents, experiences and hard-earned skills in art in any medium to bear when they push the button. In fact I'd be horrified if I won an award for crap just because it got the most votes and I feel certain anyone reading this would as well.

Now does that mean I'll haul off afterwards and say "I didn't vote for your work, sorry, I liked this other one better"? HELL NO. Not unless asked specifically ask me. Which nobody does, btw. Not even me. I am more apt to wonder why the hell you voted for me when so and so's work was so much better. Which is, in essence a slur on your tastes and criteria because they are different than mine. See how tricky that can get? When in doubt, shut my mouth.

Just to be clear, this is NOT a manifesto to the hard-working fandom icontest mods "Change your rules!" Goodness, no. Your comm - your rules. Period and end of sentence. As long as I participate in icontests I will abide by those rules. I like the challenge, surprising myself; I like getting the juices flowing, I like the focus that prompts provide and I love seeing what other people come up with. And I'd be a liar if I said I don't enjoy winning now and then because I do. I like it, my ego likes it, my tender little heart likes it. Who doesn't? But I can't let any concern about being recognized or winning/not winning because of that inform my artistic choices. The fact that I've recently been introduced to four new online editing sites gives me a much wider sandbox to play in; but at the end of the day there are still certain choices or stylistic qualities that are recognizable signatures

The bottom line here is, I love you all, I cherish you my darling f'list, but when it comes to having to vote in contests I am ALL ABOUT THE WORK. Period. Whether there's a name attached to it or not.

Now that you've made it this far (no fair cheating and jumping all the way to the end, 'kay?), let's have some ~~tea and cake~~ more icons just for fun!

Why yes, I FINALLY made some icons of VampWillow (excluding my "Lesbian Vampire Seal of Approval Icon, of course). I know it's an iconic image but somethings are iconic for a reason., It's a great shot and I had to start somewhere, right? Also I have been trying to keep the wonderful Willow fans on my f'list in mind. You're welcome. All made entirely or principally in Photobucket unless specified. 1-5 are by reverse order of creation.

1) 2) 3) 4) 5)

6) 7) 8)

I was using #6 for a while as my primary Willow icon but traded it in for one by spikesredqueen. I still like it - no fancy effects except what was already onscreen plus increased saturation and brightness - but the resolution leaves something to be desired. #8 was another possible entry for the recent slayerstillness prompt (negative space) that I missed.

9) 10) 11) 12)

#9 is actually about a year old, another one I have mixed feelings about. LOVE the Buffy hairporn, the quality of a pencil drawing rather than photograph but again, there's the clarity issue. I tried that one again and couldn't get anything better in PB; the cap is just a tad too dark for my liking.

The "steal" from Never Leave Me in #12 is definitely deliberate. And it's not intended a a shipping statement on my part but anyone who ships the two of them is more than welcome to snag it for their own nefarious purposes. Willow's life changed forever when Buffy "took notice" of her. (Consider icons #1-5 "Exhibit A".)

As I predicted, the entries in round 170 (Bad to the Bone) of

otherworldlyric are amazing, assured, sophisticated, and subversive/beautiful/funny, etc. People managed to make something new and wonderful (several somethings new and wonderful actually) out of a dumb song (can we talk? Oh, wait, we already did....)

I had to vote for 3 entries and I ALWAYS want to vote for at least 4. Never fail. *Guilt sets in* Maybe instead of voting I should just leave praise in the comments? What if they threw a challenge and nobody....eh, nevah mind.

Share my pain and go vote; the entrees deserve admiration and acclaim.

Speaking of

otherworldlyric....there was an additional image of Buffy on the stairs in AfterLife that I tried to make into an icon for challenge #165 (World on Fire); and somehow forgot to mention when I posted the other images I made for that challenge:

Somehow I couldn't get this to work to my satisfaction "sized down", at least not with Photobucket, but I like the image. "Like" isn't quite the right word, actually; "twists the knife in my heart" is more accurate. But then strangely enough I feel better for it: "Whatever I'm going through it's nowhere near the magnitude of the shit Buffy is dealing with."

kwritten kindly told me about ipiccy, the program she uses for icons and I haven't made near the strides with it that

clockwork_hart1 has; proving once again it's not the tools, it's the user that's key. But I decided to play around with this image with it a little more. I think I understand a bit better the excitement of the young guys in my grad program in filmmaking twenty years ago when the department switched to video editing from film *sniffle* and bought a video "toaster". Suddenly it seemed like storytelling was abandoned in the search for cool effects. Some of us turned up our noses at this but now? I can relate. Effects are fun. Sue me. Whether they are useful or "serve story" as Baz Luhrmann used to say is another matter.

It's not the tools, it's the one who wields them and how that matters.

With each of these I was emphasizing, or trying to, the "erasure" of Buffy Summers; the denial of her emotions and her full reality by her friends, by herself for their sake and perhaps her own, the only way she knows how to cope; by the writers and perhaps within the fandom itself.

She's not the Buffybot. She couldn't possibly be. But oh how they want her to be - how we want her to be, demand that she be - and oh how hard she tries. But I'm getting ahead of the story....

Because I haven't taken time to master ipiccy thoroughly yet, I transferred the images above from it to Photobucket to "finish them up" with the more mundane aspects of downsizing etc. Lesson learned: the two are not entirely compatible; PB was too slow, too crude to save most the of the images when I attempted to downsize them. Apparently the simpler the effects to start with, the better:

10)

As always - snag if you like but give proper credit. (Not that you'd do it any other way.)

#10 was actually the only successful example of making an image in ipiccy - #9 - and adding more layers of effects atop that in PB. When it comes to icons and imagery I always tend toward the extremes: beautiful images treated in the simplest manner possible, or layering as many effects as possible without "losing" the image.

BTW - I didn't "sign" any of these - should I do, Gentle Reader? ** I pestered my sweetie when she entered art school about proper signatures: "The history of art is filled with works by women whose signatures were replaced by those of men! Female artists have been erased from art history - so sign your work and stop being so modest for god's sake!"

But then I don't take my own advice because this doesn't seem "real" somehow. It's play, it's cheating, it's just a screencap, it's fanart and...I don't know what. Yet I wouldn't deny that "fanart" can be genuine art. I have marveled at the gorgeous, detailed Illyria banners (here and here) that

comlodge has posted recently, for example. Clicking the images to enlarge is like being pulled into another universe entirely. There is no other word for them but "works of art".

Nor am I "against" computer art in any sense, except when it's misused for it's own sake. Any lingering prejudices I had regarding computer art melted away ten years ago when my sweetie went to a traditional art school that emphasized the "academic model" in the Renaissance tradition. After five years and hundred of landscapes, pastures, equine painting, and salon-style nudes (good, bad and indifferent) I developed a great appreciation for the work of Jackson Pollack.

And because Toy Story. Finding Nemo. Ratatouille made me cry. 'nuff said.

** ETA: "signature" has been added to the larger images because

velvetwhip is absolutely right on the matter (Would I submit a story unsigned? Of course not.) This is a truism of this fandom: When in doubt, trust in her wit and her wisdom; she will not steer you wrong.

......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.

otherworldlyric has only nine entries this time around. (You'd think that would make the task of voting easier, right? WRONG.) Lovely entries as always - the clarity and strength of the imagery is just astonishing to me. This batch is entirely female-centric which is always cause for celebration. And I confess that don't know who most of those characters are, to be honest - and I don't care and don't need to for voting purposes. If the icon speaks to me in some way, that's all I need. And these speak to me - there's no doubt in my mind that these icons capture interesting women who would be worth my while, in a variety of moods and aspects: angst, confusion, courage, determination etc.

In just nine icons. And that's what it's all about for me. There's a particular feeling about this set, as if all nine were made by the same person, or it was a collaborative effort. I had a helluva hard time voting because they look as though they all belong together.

FYI, their next challenge is Barry Manilow's "Mandy". (Full disclosure- I LOVED that song as a kid. LOVED it. Had the Barry Manilow double-disk greatest hits on vinyl - got it for Christmas in 1979. "Mandy", "Weekend in New England" etc.) Which is a lovely bit of synchronicity because I heard that song on the radio last Saturday and I started jotting down icon ideas. Hopefully I'll have time to do something for it this week; my sweetie and I are moving back into our renovated apartment this week so its gonna be crazytown in my little world.

The Love Song for A Vampire entries at

slayerstillness also feel very much of a piece with each other, except this time there are 30 - count 'em, 30! - entries to chose from. I haven't voted yet. I've tried. I stared at them on Saturday and couldn't make up my mind. Looked at them today and still cannot make up my mind. Hopefully the rest of y'all are more decisive than I am, because voting ends tomorrow night! I think I know who I want to vote for...maybe. Possibly. Until I change my mind again. Oy vey.

I'm surprised that there aren't any Darla entries, and Dru is only shown with Spike, but I have the vampire ladies on the brain quite a bit lately. I think that's due to a wonderful batch of icons by

spikesredqueen and two stunning Drusilla portraits by

comlodge here and here. Vampire Willow is well-represented in the icon entries though, along with Vamp Xander - and you may be shocked to know that I heartily approve. As much as I love the ladies, I have no problem admitting that Nicholas' performance as VX was wonderfully sexy (and I don't find NB sexy in general) and creepy and doesn't get nearly it's due.

And in other news - the identity of snowdropsandtigers, who rec'd my blog on tumblr, has been solved. It's the lovely and gracious

tigerpetals - who I never would have guessed because we can't have interacted more than twice before this week, but I look forward to chatting with more often. If I don't, however, that's ok too. Knowing that people are reading this, even if I'm not aware of their existence is sobering and suprising and wonderful. When someone recs this site or stops by to say high, that's a huge deal for me knowing that they're enjoying this playspace I've carved out, and feel welcome.

I'm not sure how many of y'all have read

gabrielleabelle's meta "On Lurkers" but if you haven't, please treat yourself and do so. It's one of my favorite fandom essays:

"Studies indicate that lurkers make up 90% of online groups. 90%. 90! Peeps, that means for every one person who comments on your fanwork, there's nine others who read/watched/looked at it but didn't say anything."

"I know the general attitude towards lurkers is that they don't matter because they don't contribute. I'd say that they matter because they're the reason we contribute. They don't cease to exist just because you can't see them. They're there. They're consuming. And they're being fans in their own way."

Because I finally did exactly that - voted, that is. (It's 4:30-ish PM EST in my part of the world.) I hope to have redeemed myself in the eyes of my Willow-loving flisties.

(*bows low before velvetwhip in gratitude for her mercies*)

Do you people have ANY idea - ANY IDEA - how hard it is to "pick just one" when 1) there are SO many great authors and stories to choose from? As in, a superb overall level of quality? FEEEL MYYYY PAAAIIINNNNN.......

Speaking of Willow:

spikesredqueen posted a gorgeous banner of Willow/Oz in Wild at Heart just a few days ago. I haven't rewatched that episode since the first (one) time I saw it, and this reminds me why that's probably so. Her banner captures what made that episode hurt so damn much, the tears on Willow's face, the betrayal, everything. Which also reminds me that I probably haven't said "Why the hell didn't Aly ever win an Emmy for her performance in the series?" (Besides the usual stupid genre prejudices - not just horror, high school and fantasy, but also the perception that BtVS was a "soap opera" and therefore "girly", perhaps?)

Between Sarah and Aly, they just took my heart and broke and wrung it out and stomped on it between the two of them. Do it again, pretty please.

#1 - Thank you to whomever gifted me with a temporary paid account last month. Now I can create polls! Oh wonderful Anonymous Benefactor, you have no idea what you have unleashed upon this fandom.

#2 - Thanks also the the lovely

velvetwhip for coming up with the insanely awesome title/tag phrase "tsunami of polls" and allowing me to snag it.

***************

The other day I was having a conversation with

wickedbish in which I may have mentioned that most fandoms and fandom activity, in my experience, are focused primarily on the male characters. I assumed this was common knowledge. Except that he didn't know that. Because, you see, Ryan's favorite character is Willow (see #2 in his list of "13 Witches I Fucking Love"); he still mourns Tara (as do I; shared grief is comforting) and Buffy is one of his heros. The Gift has convinced him to not commit suicide "so many times". He's all about the ladies, bless.

You know what they say about "assuming".

Oops.

Then

clockwork_hart1 (Lucy) popped into the conversation and in her brilliant, enthusiastic way suggested the idea of a comm dedicated to Buffy, the other women in the 'verse and their interrelationships - complete with a name (Summers Blood) and a banner (she's working on it - is there no end to the young woman's talents?) ~~and three-part harmony~~. What that might actually look like or what interest there would actually be in such a thing was a matter of conjecture. So I'm channeling my inner Willow (Research Gal) for my very first poll.

What say you, Gentle Reader? Based just on the title of this post, you probably know who you are and how you stand.

(And as this is my first poll, please let me know if it functions ok. And I apologize for the wonky formatting. The LJ instructions for poll-making are vague and confusing at best. So says I.)

[Poll #1955410][Poll #1955410]

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

Profile

red_satin_doll

My Website

June 2021

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30

Page Summary

Nominations for the RWSA closing TODAY! (And a word or two in praise of betas)
Me Playing Catch-Up: Fandom Snowflake Challenge Days 1 & 2
I owe a certain beta-Muse thanks and praise to the Heavens...
Spring is in the Air: Your fan art Town Cryer, Saturday Edition
Congratulations to the Winnners of this round of the Willowy Goodness Awards!
CONGRATS TO THE WINNERS OF SUNNYDALE MEMORIAL AWARDS ROUND 30 (just a teensy bit belatedly)
VOTE NOW at SUNNYD - and Round 2 tiebreakers for 20in20
PIMP LIKE THE WIND, SHE SAID Buffyverse Pub, Secret Slaying, SunnyD Memorial awards and more!
I'm not procrastinating (much) pt 1 - My banners & icons for Slayerstillness Challenge #34
Showing the Ladies Off (and pushing our comfort zones)...
The Monday edition! All the squee that's fit to post (that I recall off the top of my head)
I've been nominated at the Wicked Awards THANK YOU!
STOP THE PRESSES HOLD THE PHONE AND THE HORSES - I AM CRYING HAPPY TEARS BECAUSE...
Does anyone know of a (buffyverse) icontest comm....
(no subject)
Icon(ic) Thinky Thoughts: The Blues so Bad....
Tsunami of Polls: We moved back into the restored apartment....
Vote Now at Slayerstillness and Otherworldlyrics icontests!
Voting is apparently still open at the Willowy Goodness Awards!
Tsunami of Polls #1 : Any interest in a comm devoted to Buffy and the women of the Buffyverse?

Syndicate

Style Credit

Style: Ivory Alcea for Mobility by branchandroot
Resources: Mitsuba Aoi

Page generated Jun. 13th, 2025 05:19 pm

|

Entries tagged with fannishness

Nominations for the RWSA closing TODAY! (And a word or two in praise of betas)

Me Playing Catch-Up: Fandom Snowflake Challenge Days 1 & 2

I owe a certain beta-Muse thanks and praise to the Heavens...

Spring is in the Air: Your fan art Town Cryer, Saturday Edition

Congratulations to the Winnners of this round of the Willowy Goodness Awards!

CONGRATS TO THE WINNERS OF SUNNYDALE MEMORIAL AWARDS ROUND 30 (just a teensy bit belatedly)

VOTE NOW at SUNNYD - and Round 2 tiebreakers for 20in20

PIMP LIKE THE WIND, SHE SAID Buffyverse Pub, Secret Slaying, SunnyD Memorial awards and more!

I'm not procrastinating (much) pt 1 - My banners & icons for Slayerstillness Challenge #34

Showing the Ladies Off (and pushing our comfort zones)...

The Monday edition! All the squee that's fit to post (that I recall off the top of my head)

I've been nominated at the Wicked Awards THANK YOU!

STOP THE PRESSES HOLD THE PHONE AND THE HORSES - I AM CRYING HAPPY TEARS BECAUSE...

Does anyone know of a (buffyverse) icontest comm....

(no subject)

Icon(ic) Thinky Thoughts: The Blues so Bad....

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

Vote Now at Slayerstillness and Otherworldlyrics icontests!

Voting is apparently still open at the Willowy Goodness Awards!

Tsunami of Polls #1 : Any interest in a comm devoted to Buffy and the women of the Buffyverse?

Expand Cut Tags

Profile

June 2021

Links

Most Popular Tags

Page Summary

Syndicate

Style Credit