Lil's things

EVERYBODY

WARSHIP HAS BEEN RELEASED EARLY

Remember; if you buy the CD, you can also instantly download the mp3s as well! CD is only a few bucks more, so you get the best of both :)

Y'know, I hate the expression "MY FEELS" but I can't hate it that much because I know exactly what it means. As in, I started listening to B7 at work while doing tedious data entry, and I forgot how amazing Pressure Point was and I had to take out my headphones for a moment because I had the aforementioned feels and quite literally couldn't go on

as if this scene isn't rich enough, there's BAMF Kasabi and holy cow Servalan in a hat and Gan and oh my god

WHY DID I STOP THE REWATCHES???

Like I mean... THIS SCENE. Blake starts off with one of his biggest most assholish bossy sneaky manouvres ("oh surprise, I've returned us to Earth to make an attack") and then once he's convinced the rest, goes to convince Avon. He anticipates the verbal fight but Avon comes out with the most surprising placid agreement, and you think that they're finally acting like a proper team and coming together, but even Blake knows him better than we do;

BLAKE: You better start getting kitted up. Do you want to tell me why? AVON: I like the challenge. BLAKE: You don't want to tell me why. (<-- this delivery is perfect)

And then after the most placid co-operation comes the most vicious sting from Avon, not only separating himself from Blake now and in the future, and ideologically too, but the whole interaction is laced with so many different meanings and has the loveliest saddest ending... "There's no hurry." And you think that maybe it's all Avon's bravado, and Blake knows it's Avon's bravado and when you know their whole story it's just... so...

full of feels emotion.

It is so damned Shakespearean and more perfect than any of all the other yin-yang duos on television and they can somehow do it so well in goose-turd green leather and a lobster suit.

I mean.... how could you even remake this

I thought you might like to see the finished products with detail. I felt quite sad sending them off, actually... I grew attached! I'm glad I did though, I still regret never writing to Elisabeth Sladen but I'm glad I actually acted on that regret.

I think I did a magnificent job on these, if I do say so myself. If you look at that unfinished picture, I SCORED THE PATTERN ON THE BELT MYSELF because Avon can't just have normal plain belts or anything and I get all OCD about it. I managed a sort-of approximation of the types of material belonging to each costume. You can't see it, but the paper on the Ovenready boots is kind of matte deep brown, and all the studs are silver. The shoulders on the studded black one are all shiny like leather. This is the problem with paper art, it looks best in the flesh.

If I have one regret it's that the sparkly red that makes the under-part of the Lobster is more yellow-red than blue-red and there is GLUE showing on the Computer Samurai which is my pet hate. I'm about to apply fake blood to the final Blake costume which fills me with anxiety because it could go WRONG.

The ultimate question is what colour to back them on, and what nice design I could use. Should I put a text description on them all? Episodes they were in? A description of the character at that point, or nothing at all? No text? I was going to do a sort of geometric design of Zen's lights in the background but now I'm fretting. What should I do apart from go on that devil-site Pinterest to steal people's paper ideas?

Part 1 of 2 of my papercutting project is complete! I tried to make them as show accurate as possible but there's only so far you can emulate goose turd green leather without actually buying leather and not paper so sparkles will have to do instead. The first one is actually a bit suede-like. I only hope I can finish it in time without the Big Finish guy losing patience... he promised to pass them on to the actors for me (HOW GOOD ARE BIG FINISH!?!)

Amazeballs :D

The more I study these costumes the more incredible they are... and they really knew how to dress each individual. Everything for Gareth is big and flowy and commanding, very cleverly cinched around the waist with big belts to hide his (frankly attractive) tummy and draw attention to his shoulders. And green, so much green... who knew there were so many different types of green paper. 0_o

I have two questions though; what colour should I make the background, and should I put a giant red fake bloodsplotch on the last one?

edit: you can't send fake blood through international post, can you. I thought I'd go for a Heston Blumenthal style "create your own effect" lollll

We're getting close to the end, guys!

I think we've done a damned fine job.

25 Days of Blake’s 7 Day 20; best episode focused on Avon idk I'mma just word vomit [spoilers] I'm revolting again. I blame the Melbourne weather for making me sweaty (harhar) but it felt wrong to go on and on about Avon when I've already gone on and on about Avon (and could continue to go on and on about Avon) and it's International Women's Day and Bot already told the story of my heart anyway. (Incidentally I realised something about Avon last night; it's not that he doesn't want to socialise, he just doesn't know how to do it like normal people do, bless. He quite likes human contact. He wouldn't do space yoga with them otherwise. It was a strange night though, I dreamt I was about to be David Mitchell's girlfriend and then the tenth and eleventh Doctors were boyfriends and it was absolutely adorable. It's certainly a nice change from the dying kitten dreams, that's for sure. Anyway.)

JENNA    Cally wasn't a child.  BLAKE    Wasn't she?  JENNA    She knew the risks. She accepted them. She even welcomed them.

This whole exchange is amazing, but I basically wanted to use it to say Cally is probably the closest in mindset to Blake. We often overlook them as a character combination, but they're the two of the Liberator who we could really call 'rebels'. She gives him suggestions, she proposes attacks. She works close to his side. She doesn't challenge him from an opposite perspective like Jenna and Avon do, but from the perspective of another rebel in it for The Cause. Look at them up there, they look like proud parents of their little rebellion.

I guess I wanted to write this because I've seen people express a lot of hostility at Blake for putting his crew in danger, exposing them to risk and causing the events in Pressure Point. I think to an extent this is warranted, but only insofar as he's fallible and human like the rest of us (something we give Avon a lot more leniency for). The first Pressure Point scenario is actually Seek-Locate-Destroy and Jenna describes the situation accurately above... Cally was completely prepared and accepted the risks. I would argue that Gan was similarly prepared and accepted the risks. When Blake says that he gives everyone an opportunity to opt out of his quest, I think he means it. It doesn't mean that he won't cajole or push someone into it or that someone's circumstances mean that participation is the only option. That's what makes the drama interesting. But if someone was to protest their participation I think ultimately Blake would accept that.

Back to Cally... I was going to suggest that she was a female version of Blake without the ego, though that's not quite right (if only for stereotypically associating femininity with nurturing and communication) That is why Cally is cool though... she possesses all those 'traditional' feminine qualities as well as a hard rebel edge. This show from the late 70's performs gender far more loosely than offerings of today. There are nipples everywhere and nobody cares. Sexiness is rewritten. The head of the Federation is a woman with a shaved head who is just as "feminine" as rebel killer Cally in her long sweeping robes. Travis and Avon have eyelashes to rival Twiggy ok maybe that's pushing it and everyone wears leather. Everyone remembers Jenna as damned sexy but it's not coded the way it is today; we remember her self-assuredness and competence instead of her cleavage (we rarely see it!)

I don't know where I'm going with this except to express surprise that Blake's chest was all waxed in Seek-Locate-Destroy.

Was Terry Wogan complaining about Blake's absence or something? :3

Just a very spoilery thought about Terminal... I wonder what would have happened if Servalan actually did have Blake on Terminal? Avon seemed like he was prepared to look after Blake for months until he healed, though I'm sure the latter would not have been pleased about the Liberator. Would the rest of the crew have stayed on? From memory Scorpio was the only ship on Terminal, there could have been a battle for ownership. If they had stayed on, would Tarrant have picked fights with Blake? Or only Avon? Fight with him for the curly-haired shampoo? Would Blake have reclaimed Orac? Would Avon's sanity be restored, or would he struggle with no longer have his favourite "I'm in it for the Liberator" excuse to hide behind? That's the part that fascinates me the most... the only reasons for Avon's actions on Terminal are that he's committed to Blake or that he's committed to the Cause. The latter is unlikely and the former is conditional... sometimes I see it as Avon telling himself he needs to tie up all loose ends in his life before he moves on.

I guess what I'm saying is that I want to see this AU and I'd be very, very surprised if nobody had given it a go!

25 Days of Blake’s 7 Day 8: Favourite Romance [spoilers]

I'm not quite using romance in the way it's intended, here. I'm actually glad for the lack of it in the show and I tend not to like it in sci-fi. It gets in the way of big questions, it shows us motivations that are more complex than 'I did it out of love'. My favourite genuine romance is probably between the cute little couple we meet in episode one, and, well... look at what happens to them. I don't buy Servalan as romantic for a second. Avon's first love is tragic. I like to pretend Blake's first love is completely platonic for reasons that should be clear. 0_o Vila's little dalliance was rather sweet, but it's clear that between a cosy domestic life stuck on one planet and deadly horrible adventure with Blake he would still choose the latter because he's not a thief for nothing. He loves thrills (just in moderation).

There is no 'romance' in Blake's 7 because it's a terribly bleak universe. At this point I'm skirting around the question of why I chose Blake and Avon so as not to reveal myself as the massive awful slasher I am but don't get me wrong; there is no 'romance' for them either.

But there is something. I had to go back to the dictionary to look up romance and this is more what I mean- ardent emotional attachment or involvement between people. This is what I mean and what is plain to see. Blake involves himself in Avon's life to the point it's frankly suspicious. In Countdown he's not just trying to crack open Avon's personal world but assert his command of him to anyone who will listen. He makes huge efforts to keep Avon with him and it's not just about Avon's usefulness. Blake isn't the only one who will go to frankly stupid lengths to aid the other; in Terminal Avon proves that he's willing to kill in order to find Blake. He spends 40 hours awake so nobody will interrupt his plan to find Blake. He just about gives up Liberator in exchange for Blake. The look on his face when he realises Blake is alive is one of his most open expressions but almost immediately it turns into 'damn'.

That's the nature of their relationship. At times they adore the banter, they seek one another out to test theories. This scene in Pressure Point is one of the absolute best... it's deadly serious but I always got the impression they were enjoying it. Despite everything, they work extremely well together. And they sure get up in one another's space a hell of a lot. Then there are the times they detest it. Their politics are so polarised yet they realise the neccessity of the other's. Blake detests Avon's selfishness and it's probably just as well Avon acquiesces to him early on because it's clear Blake is willing to do almost anything for his cause. Avon detests Blake's selfishness. That line in Star One- "I want to be free... of him!" always breaks my heart because it's so heartfelt. Avon bitterly means it; he's sick of the sacrifice, Blake's increasing tendency to do what he wants and damn the rest, the energy spent. He also recognises that he can't just leave. There's not much stopping him; he could request to be dropped off at the nearest planet, he's probably clever enough to pick them off one by one and take Liberator, but he's developed attachment. Damned attachment. He's fallen under Blake's spell like the rest of them and it occasionally seeks to drive him nuts (and perhaps it does).

It's almost Shakesperean in a way, a thwarted romance that could never be, a moon in an elliptical orbit around a sun. Too close and it burns, too far and it's lost. I don't think I could really say I imagine a romance between them because that's the whole point. They can't escape eachother but they could never be... romantically, politically, genuine friends, whatever you want to call it.

But also this.

25 Days of Blake’s 7 Day 5: Favourite Male Character [spoilers!]

Who else.

Yes, once more I am entirely predictable and have chosen our eponymous hero, the Big Hairy Curly-Haired Welshman responsible for induced ovulations on sight and heart palpitations on hearing that perfectly trained RADA accent.

There are lots of other male characters I love; dear Vila, broody Travis I and his slightly fey tragic croak, Avon (naturally). But pushed to choose, it's Blake. And I'm not just saying that because I am overwhelmingly attracted to Gareth Thomas and regret that all our modern heroes are buffed and waxed and white-toothed and straight-haired (when a massive curly slightly pudgy 33 year old appeals so much to my heart and loins)

...anyway. I suppose that this is the whole point of the show... do we really call Blake a hero? From the outset we know his very strong sense of morality, and we'd more than likely agree with it, too. The freedom of man to 'think and speak', a fight against oppression and corruption. It's at the point when we wonder just how far he's willing to go that we listen increasingly to Avon; where is that line drawn, between freedom fighter and terrorist? Are they one and the same? Blake does some pretty terrible and hasty things in the name of justice that lead to disaster, and we start to see him not as a hero but just a man. A fallible, headstrong and desperate man just like the rest of them and that's what makes this show so damned great... nothing is ever so easy as heroes and villains. That's real life. Nothing is ever so simple as 'take down the bad guys'... there are systems of power and privilege and society and economics and crime. Destroy Star One... what are the consequences for the worlds that rely on it?

It's so hard to answer these questions, and it's so easy to be pessimistic and I guess it's why I love Blake, and why Avon is his perfect foil. Blake is strong and determined enough to keep going, strong enough to have even Avon continue to follow him. He's charismatic as hell, and that raises all the wonderful meaty questions about just what he's prepared to do to those closest to him, to risk their lives (and we see the terrible fallout of that risk taken), to assume responsibility for their lives and suffer the accusation of selfishness and recklessness. My opinion is that he genuinely cares for and loves his crew, you can see that if you closely watch his interaction with them and note that he's always touching them, on the shoulder, on the arm, on the waist. My opinion is also that he's manipulative ("Gan, let me know when you can return to work") but that he simply can't differentiate these things. After all, the crew have decided to be with him, haven't they? Avon can make the differentiation and tells Blake as much, and those two together are the perfect balance between Blake's unrelenting and dangerous idealism and Avon's practical selfishness. Blake does need a voice of reason. But without people like Blake, there would be no fight and I love how the series pulls no punches about the benefits and dangers of his particular brand of ideology.

One thing I wish the series had focused a little more on was the effects of his brainwashing, the memory loss, guilt, his internal monologue about discovering he's not the man he thought he was while being trumped up on charges of child abuse. It could have been very dark; I'm hoping perhaps there might be a story about it narrated by Gareth in the audio books to be released because I think that could make a remarkable and intense story.

It feels like we're not often privy to Blake's introspection, and I suppose there's a point to that too. We as the viewers are constantly making up our minds about him, the figurehead or the man, the hero or the terrorist.

You could trust Blake with your life, I think, but unlike regular fiction he won't appear at the last minute to save you. He's only human, after all. I like that.

We all know the scene where Blake takes the art of subtle eavesdropping to a whole new level, but what I didn't realise was that he ditches the woman he's taking to the sickbay in order to double back and do it.

This is the most curious little gesture. Avon has just delivered the worst sort of insult to Blake during his worst moment of weakness, and the way Blake carefully puts his hand on his shoulder would infer he's about to beat him to a pulp but something else is going on there, something quite odd. Particularly as this is around the time Avon has both announced his intention to have Liberator but also effectively committed himself to Blake (can't have both, Avon!)

I wish I could have been a fly on the wall during script read throughs so I knew just what they were all thinking. I can watch it ten times and have a different theory each time.

"I'm as surprised as you are."

The awkward part of this is that Blake grabs his hand after they fall onto the ground. Then tries to casually turn it into a hover-hand but it so doesn't work.

What do I have to do to get a mass rewatch of Blake's 7 so I can see it reblogged on my tumblr all the time instead of the Cucumber? I mean... everything about it is so sexy, including the oil refineries. I'm deadly serious.