Eternal Refuge

Well, I am back to my "favourite" icon making ... a set of 20 icons of Spike for characters20in20 ... after all, look at my username!



10 THEMES

Splash of Color	Negative Space	Blended And Mixed	From The Back	Fire
Celestial	Pretty in Pink	Out of the Box	Empty Seating	Complex

5 CATEGORY (Widely Used)

1	2	3	4	5

5 ARTIST'S CHOICE

1	2	3	4	5

And, that's Mum's fault!

I am not the tidiest person in the world ... Mum was very, very, very organised, and Thursday was always "bedroom day".  She used to clean the upper half of the house Thursday mornings, and I used to come in to her moaning about the state of my room!

Ironically I have decided to give my bedroom and study a good clean ... so maybe (eventually) her lifestyle is rubbing off on me ... or maybe it's that I really have got my bedroom disorganised, and with the weather as it is I might as well pack away the real summery clothes until next year.

I will try to get back as well and put some more photos up, if I can, but I did manage to get 15 icons done for Monthlyinspo over at DW ... with a theme of "One Source.  I used 5 cpas from episode #1 of season 6 of BtVS

1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10

11	12	13	14	15

As ever, all are snaggable, but credit would be appreciated. The credits are available over at my icon journal - d4s_icons



And I have just seen the sun come out, so as I have a couple of letters to post I shall go for a short walk, as well, before the next rain storm arrives.  But before I head off -



21 – World Gratitude Day: For what (or who) are you grateful?
My faith
My family - especially Mum & Dad
My health - especially after a long time of illness
The chance to travel, and visit places ... even if they are only round the corner.



Right, lets head off x

Ooops - housewrok not getting done so I can finish this set of icons. As I said a couple of months ago I am gradually working through BtVS, and seeing as we are in March, that means month 3, which means BtVS season 3

This set are for Round 46 of Monthlyinspo over on DW monthlyinspoand the theme is Light Up. A good challenge, and I hope that they all fit into the theme -

1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10

11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20

As ever, all are snaggable, but credit would be appreciated. The credits are available over at my icon journal - d4s_icons

This set of icons is made for round 3 of Characters20in20 over at DW characters20in20 with the choice of character Spike, from BtVS ... well, look at my username!




10 THEMES

Valentine's Day	Painted	Diagonal	Guess Who	Provided Picture + Provided Texture
Sad	Together with Second Claim	Blocking	Hair Porn	Then And Now

CATEGORY (Same Image)

1	2	3	4	5

5 ARTIST'S CHOICE

1	2	3	4	5

And an extra



All icons can be snagged, and all the credits are available overat  d4s_icons

I made this set of 20 icons for round 45 of monthlyinspo . This month's theme is Au Naturel or The Fake Out, and I decided to do 10 of each ...

1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10

11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20

As ever, all are snaggable, but credit would be appreciated. The credits are available over at my icon journal over on LJ - d4s_icons

In your own space, post the results of your fandom scavenger hunt. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.




1. A favorite character
2. Something that makes you laugh
3. A bookshelf
4. A game or hobby you enjoy
5. Something you find comforting
6. A TV show or movie you hope more people will watch
7. A piece of clothing you love
8. A thing from an old fandom
9. A thing from a new fandom




1. Come on, look at my name. It may be the name I chose years ago, but the character of Spike (from BtVS) is still amazing ... love his story, his highs & lows ... and a great actor to portray it!

2. This is a Christmas card made by a friend. I loved the Val Kilmer version of Batman, and love Ewoks (neither of which Chis likes), but she drew this card of Val Kilmer as an Ewok ... but, didn't realise till she saw me open it, that he has 2 sets of ears ... But that just makes the card more special, and gives me a smile.

In your own space, create a fanwork. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.




Any of you who look back though this journal will see that I make a lot of icons, and really enjoy the challenge. However banners, etc are something I find very hard to do ... so I was a good girl and made a banner as the answer to this challenge.

And, as you can see by my name, I do love the story arc of Spike (in BtVS) ... this image is from early season 7

I wrote this some time ago, but never finished it until I had a quiet shift on Saturday evening (shh, don't tell the NHS they were paying me to write Spike!)







ALWAYS THE HEART

I knew it would be something like this. As soon as I saw the shiny trinket and put it around my neck, it rested on my chest. Now, with the light pouring out of me, I knew that my destiny was being fulfilled … my heart was causing my final demise.

It burns.

It stings.

Yet, in causing me pain, the bad guys are dying and I’m saving the world. I still like this world, and it is certainly worth dying for. More important than the world are the people, who are no longer “happy meals”, but individuals whose lives are worth saving.

In addition, then there’s Buffy. The girl I hurt, the one I couldn’t save last time. This time she gets to live. She is going to have a future, the one she has always yearned for.

They say that your life flashes past your eyes as you near your final moments. So true.

The good, the bad and the ugly.

The pain and the joy, but especially the heartbreak.

Over one hundred years of pain focussed around my heart. Just one small part of the body, yet the most important piece of all.

I’d only been young when my father died. The doctor had said that his heart had just stopped, and in doing so, it had broken mother’s heart. The beating of the heart is what keeps us alive, but other people can seriously injure that organ, yet leave us alive to suffer. Cecily had broken my heart, so that I’d run away, and in retreat, had lost my own heartbeat and left it even more vulnerable. One stake, well placed, and I would be gone.

It’s true that I had never felt as alive as when I died. Unlife is great; everything so bright and clear.

My dark princess had opened up an amazing future for me, although sadly she never felt the same. My unbeating heart was broken, but I learned to accept that even though I would never be her number one, she was fond of me, and that was something special to treasure.

As a vampire there was little to fear in the world, except one piece of wood slammed through my heart. Angelus said I should be worried about meeting a slayer, but I was no more vulnerable fighting her than in the many arguments with my Grandsire. Slayers are the one girl designed to kill me. They’re trained to triumph, so a battle against a champion is challenging, and to win would be something to be proud of.

I had never received any special recognition whilst alive, so the two trophies I received from my two worthiest opponents are distinctive. I now carry the mark of the cross on my face and get to wear a stylish leather coat. Those two slayers died in a fair fight, one that they could have won if luck had been on their side.

Pride in the death of slayers was something that was special. It was unique to me. It didn’t mean much to my Aurelian family, but to vampires in general it made me a force to be reckoned with.

Slayers are special. So, why shouldn’t I be proud?

Slayers are special. I have spent time with two of them recently. One of those, the most special of all, has left me with the biggest scar of all.

Scars are not always visible, like the one left on me by first slayer. Some are deep, painful and hidden. That’s the scar I now carry; a heart that’s bruised, broken and slowly healing over. In some ways I can say that my heart is no longer mine, so the damage is immaterial. However, these last few weeks have brought me a measure of peace and comfort. Maybe for the first time ever I have learnt what it is like to be cared for. A few moments of peace within a century of pain are so important. Buffy still has my heart, but maybe I have a corner of hers in return.

And, so I stand and allow the amulet to take charge of my heart. This time I know why I am allowing my heart to be shattered. It’s all for her. To give her the life she so deserves.

Maybe when the vampires are all dead, and the Hellmouth sealed, I will finally get to rest in peace.

Challenge #5

In your own space, promote a canon/talk about a part of canon that you love. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

As I commented on the #3 challenge I am a huge fan of Janeway/Chakotay in Star Trek Voyager.

Ironically I almost didn't watch the series, as I am not a great fan of "women leaders", but a friend asked me to video a couple of episodes, in the days when you had to either watch what was on video, or no TV!! So I saw a couple of episodes and was hooked.

Yes, we have a female boss, but as you explore the story you realise she is totally by herself. No help, no family, no one to ask advice from ... and as boss no one she could really ask for help from. In some ways, although certainly not a boss I have always been a real loner. I have increased my love of this fandom in the last year or so, since I lost my parents ... andcertainly with lockdown. That isolation that Katheryn Janeway has really seems to ring bells!

Chakotay was the great "bad boy" who had accepted what had happened, and was doing his best to try to help everyone. Again something I can link myself to ... not the bad boy bit, but I do like to help people, and like him still tend to feel a bit isolated. However he fell for his boss, and really spent time trying to help her ... but she only accepted help to a certain point.

However the theory was that they wouldn't get home for 50+ years ... so maybe if they had both had time to actually accept the bad things that were happening, maybe they could accept each other.  One argument she used was that she wouldn't want to get close to anyone that she would then have to "order" into a risky situation, as if she already had feelings then she would still have been injured by they pain.

So, yes, good fan-fic between the 2 of them is fun to read.


For many, I know you would be expecting me to write about Spike ... as yes, I could write about him for ages.  I am still a fan of his character, but thought i would do something different!

These were all made for Quick Battles at itsabattlefield

       

As ever, they are all snaggable