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So wow. Festivids has happened and it happened BIG TIME.  Also, I was not defaulted upon at all this year. In fact, I was like... the anti-defaulted upon. I was unfaulted.

You guys. I made out like a bandit.  Ten vids.  THAT IS NOT A TYPO.  I received ten amazing vids and when I got home from work yesterday and saw this, I am not gonna lie: I got choked up.  I don't think I had just a vidder - I had a committee! I am just so happy and moved and grateful and there are ten vids made just for me and I love them all!

Let me tell you a bit about them:

Rocky Movie Series

First of all, you should start with the three Rocky vids as I believe they go together:

Start with "Livin' On  A Prayer" -- this song so succinctly and passionately tells the story of Adrien and Rocky and the first two movies and HOW DID I NOT REALIZE THIS BEFORE NOW??  I just... those are legitimately wonderful films and the story of these two and how they struggle and fight for their lives and their family and just... they are HALFWAY THERE!!! I have moments I laugh out loud with joy and moments where I just... I FEEL IT YOU GUYS!  I swear to you this vid gets ME PUMPED! And then Adrian almost dies and Rocky CAN'T WIN and then... he does. And it was never ever never just his journey - she was there too and they built all of this, together. And it was hard and sometimes they both wanted to give up and give in but they didn't because that is not what they do. You really should see this vid.

Okay, now it is time to dial it back just a bit, but not to much because Apollo Creed? He "Can't Hold Back".  AT ALL.  So, yeah, I love Apollo. This vid also loves Apollo? Do you know what Apollo loves? If you guessed Rocky Balboa you are not wrong. From the very first "tremble when we touch" punch to the development of their eventual close and enduring friendship, the respect that these men have for each other is never in doubt.  This song is perfect -- their bond is the hand of fate -- and neither of them can hold back. This is one of the reasons they go so hard in the ring, in the training field and later? In love.  I am just. This vid. *hugs it tightly* (Note: this vid is firmly Apollo POV and as such ends on a very nondead, yet poignant note).

Rocky and Apollo are perfectly, evenly, matched. They are men who have climbed and fought and worked to get to the top of their field, they are elite athletes and in each other they have found that perfect foe and also the one other person who *gets it.*  They approach their craft differently - Apollo is grace and Rocky is a bruiser, but inside the ropes they are opposite yet equal forces.  They are each other's "The One" and just... this vid tells the story of their journey and you guys... it breaks my soul. I mean I don't want to spoil the vid or anything but when you watch just... Okay,  there  is just this masterful sequence where the vidder has captured Rocky and Apollo at just what might be their greatest moments of shared triumphs, when Rocky pushes past his training hurdles and then when  he defeats Clubber Lang, and the vidder intercuts IVAN FUCKING DRAGO RIGHT THERE on the lyric "No shadows block the sun" and yeah -- this vid is gonna hurt. Because the thing is, Rocky loses.  Rocky is actually a fantastic loser -- he is well known for his ability to just take a beating and keep going, but Apollo sees past that to the CHAMPION that Rocky really is and they both just recognize this quality in the other.  Except, Rocky loses and ultimately this story is a tragedy because that is what happens when STARS COLLIDE!!!

Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Okay, so immediately after that vid you just need to turn to "Baby I'm a Star" because this vid possibly contains magic. Carlton Banks can do anything he wants and he can do it right now, right in front of you. I am a true believer. I think by the end of this vid? So is Will. This vid is guaranteed to make you happy, make you feel better about the state of the world and will make you want to get up and groove with a side benefit of cousinslash!

Friday the 13th the Series

I wanted a Ryan vid. I actually, specifically, wanted a Ryan/Micki cousinslash vid that would complete my childhood. I got exactly that. Not only did I get that, I got "Kissing Cousins" and the vid just comments on the entire relationship with aplomb and yet still highlights the ridiculousness of some of the scenarios and ... I cannot believe that I got a Friday the 13th the Series vid. I can't believe I got an Elvis Presley Friday the 13th the Series vid. I am so lucky. I am so happy.

The Legend of Billie Jean

Bad Karma: Billie Jean as a Revenge Vid.  Billie Jean as Jesus. Billie Jean as a Unending force. My name is sisabet and I approve of this message.

Dude, really -- this vid takes the bad assery of the original and just ups it for a more modern time (seriously, cutting your hair and wearing one earring was REALLY bad ass in the early 80s) and keeps the focus tight on Billie Jean and her fight for justice. FAIR IS FAIR!!!

And here is where I start to get choked up again, because... I got two Legend of Billie Jean vids, and they are both distinct and just... they were made for me. Do you understand how special that is? Every single vid I received, all ten of them, were made specifically to appeal to me, or to highlight part of my request and this happens TEN TIMES IN A ROW.  So I am watching "Young Heroes" and I am grooving to the Youth in Revolt aspect of the movie this vid highlights and happy that there is someone else out there in the world who is able to convey the universal truth that wetsuits=empowerment. And it isn't just Billie Jean's story here but it is the story of how she enacted change in the world and how she was able to use that change to become an actualfax hero but... you can be a hero too. SNIFF!!!!!! I HAVE SOMETHING IN MY EYE!

Bosom Buddies

So, I never really thought anyone but me would want to vid this show.  I actually never thought anyone but me would actually WANT a vid to this show. I didn't want to have to make a vid for myself - but how else was the world to know about this wonderful time in our shared history where Peter Scolari was hot? Hot and in love with Tom Hanks? "Lady in Red...ish Pinkish... Oh Hell" assures me that this mission has been undertaken and the message is being delivered to the masses.  Oh, show. Did you really do all this?

A Different World

Once upon a time this was my absolutely favorite show. And Dwayne Wayne/Whitley Gilbert? I shipped it hard. Very, very hard. And "Hillman Breakdown" just... well IT IS THE ENTIRE RELATIONSHIP AND IT IS MADCAP AND YES EPIC!!!! Also, adorable. So adorable.

The Bionic Woman

You guys, "Bionic Inferno" are two of my very favorite things: Tina Turner and The Bionic Woman!!! ALSO OMG I GOT A BIONIC WOMAN VID OMG OMG OMG IS IT CHRISTMAS??? OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, for starters - I've been waiting at least 35 years for a Bionic Woman vid. I would say 36 years but there was a year or two there where I probably wasn't really conscious of this desire.  So yeah. 35 years.  To say I was touched and surprised and just grateful? Would be understatements but I don't really know how to express my excitement in textual form.  I mostly just make flaily arms at the screen and then make the eh eh eh eh ehhhh noise and then just... I mean all these vids were made for me and I am just so overwhelmed and happy and I do want to thank everyone.  So very much.

Happy Festivids -- please go and check out these vids, they are all just so wonderful and please drop a comment to let the vidders know you saw and appreciated as well. If you think you know who made these vids or if you think you've spotted a vid that I have to have made, go and play at Guess the Festividder.  If you are correct and guess a vid I actually made? I'll make you a vid to order!