such_heights: (who: clara [s8])
Amy ([personal profile] such_heights) wrote2021-03-08 04:30 pm
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Memories of Phoebe

I think news has spread pretty widely by now, but as I haven't posted this publicly here yet - [personal profile] purplefringe died suddenly in her sleep a week ago. My grief is beyond words.

A lot of Phoebe's non-fannish friends, and some of her family, knew about and really admired her vids, and generally were familiar with her fangirl activities. I'd like to find ways to tell them about all the things that Phoebe did in fandom, the friends that she made and the lives that she touched.

Whether you were close or only knew her vids or general fandom presence, if you have a memory of her you wanted to share I'd really appreciate it. Nothing is too brief (or too long). A favourite vid, a time running into her at a convention, a twitter conversation you had, anything at all will be a comfort at an awful time. If you need a refresher, you can find her vids on youtube and on ao3.

I've created a google form, alternatively you can comment below or email me at such.heights at gmail - if you could include your preferred name and where you live (country/region) that would be great.

Thank you. <3
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kass: Eleven and Amy hug. (hug)

[personal profile] kass 2021-03-08 07:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Her vids were so bright and beautiful and full of joy. "I Do the Dumbest Things for You" still makes me beam. And "Read My Mind." The way she captured friendship, relationship, caring. There is fondness evident in every frame of those vids: what comes through for me is that she saw how these characters loved each other, even (especially!) in their dorkiness and imperfections. Whether it was John and Rodney or Amy and Rory, these characters lift each other up and help each other shine, and that's what we do for each other in fandom too -- I felt like her vids were a celebration of that. We never met in person, but her work brought me so much joy. If you share this with her family, you can ID me by either one of my names, and I live in Massachusetts USA.

(And omg, the "Love is Cool" vid that the two of you made together -- it remains one of my most enduring vid favorites of all time. Love is endless. That means something different now than it did before, but it's still true.)
seekingferret: Two warning signs one above the other. 1) Falling Rocks. 2) Falling Rocs. (Default)

[personal profile] seekingferret 2021-03-09 03:10 am (UTC)(link)
By coincidence, I recced "Gonna Get Through This World" a month ago as my Thursday vidrec: https://seekingferret.dreamwidth.org/371087.html I also recced another of her vids, "Starman", last week: https://seekingferret.dreamwidth.org/374218.html

What amazes me in rewatching [personal profile] purplefringe's vids is how she continually managed to balance wit and cleverness with heart and emotion. You can see in every vid just how deeply she empathized with the characters she's vidding.

In terms of interacting with her in fandom, I still treasure the comment exchange we had on my Jews dancing vid, it was so enthusiastic and generous and made me feel so validated. I specifically remember "I love everyone in this bar (mitzvah)", which feels like it captures that same combination of wit and heart.


~Ferret from New Jersey
thefairymelusine: line drawing of a knight lying by a bank of flowers (Default)

[personal profile] thefairymelusine 2021-03-09 01:32 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm so sorry for your loss
masakochan: (DN - Light/L - *hug*)

[personal profile] masakochan 2021-03-09 04:16 pm (UTC)(link)
I didn't know her personally, but I still feel like I'm partially in shock about all this (and also randomly tearing up whenever I think about it).

I can only echo what kass said about her work bringing joy to me- especially now that I've been reminded that she worked on so many of my favorite Doctor Who fanvids. And her 'Hallelujah' Good Omens still takes my breath away with how deep it hits. I don't even know how to describe it beyond there being so many layers of meaning that she put into it.

- Ashley (from Texas USA)
glass_icarus: (saving face: viv)

[personal profile] glass_icarus 2021-03-09 05:25 pm (UTC)(link)
I never interacted with her, but I heard so many lovely things about her vids! I especially loved "Saving Me & You" for its Saving Face highlights.
rydra_wong: Paapa Essiedu as Hamlet, holding a skull (shakespeare -- hamlet)

[personal profile] rydra_wong 2021-03-10 02:11 pm (UTC)(link)
I got to know her because her "Hallelujah" vid reduced me to ALL-CAPS SCREAMING, and then to SCREAMING WITH TIMESTAMPS to try to communicate the things I saw in the vid.

Then she noticed that I'm a massive Shakespeare nerd and asked if I'd be interested in beta-ing her vid of David Tennant's "Hamlet", and I said a very enthusiastic yes.

And it was a gift and a privilege -- it was fascinating to watch her process, how she was thinking about it and how she went about solving tricky sections of the vid, and it was lovely to be able to contribute to that in whatever ways I could. Quite aside from the finished vid being a stunner, I felt the whole process was incredibly good for me -- it woke up some analytical bits of my brain I'd not used in ages, that I'd allowed to go to sleep.

If I find a use for those bits of my brain, it'll be thanks to her.
kaberett: Trans symbol with Swiss Army knife tools at other positions around the central circle. (Default)

[personal profile] kaberett 2021-03-11 03:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Phoebe was absolutely central to me coming to understand vidding as a medium. Audiovisual media in general is Not My Thing -- it's hard work, and I struggle with it, and still I have multiple of her vids saved locally and watch them over and over again on bad days, and cry in all the right places every time. Love Is Cool, especially, on bad days and during long nights, but Gravity is so perfect that I almost thought I'd dreamed it and had to shake the internet to make it fall out again, and it being real and existing was a bright-and-shining moment for me, recently.

(Alex, UK)
thisbluespirit: (dw - twelve)

[personal profile] thisbluespirit 2021-03-11 08:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, I am so shocked and sorry to hear that!

I never had the privilege of knowing her properly as such online, but she was, hands down, my favourite vidder and few fannish things gave me delight like seeing that [personal profile] purplefringe had just posted a new vid in a fandom we shared.

And on the times that I did interact, whether commenting on the vids, or suggestions for vidshows etc., she was unfailingly sweet and enthusiastic and so positive in her attitude to fandom. I can only say again: I am so, so sorry for your loss - to you and to everyone who did know her personally. What little I knew of her online, I shall miss very much indeed.

Among her vids, I've watched Kansas, Pompeii, Gonna Get Through this World, and Somewhere Over the Rainbow in particular too many times to count - but she was always not only so good, but every one of them had so much heart in them.
Edited 2021-03-11 20:49 (UTC)
sea_thoughts: Gwen from Torchwood grieving (Grieving)

[personal profile] sea_thoughts 2021-03-14 11:53 am (UTC)(link)
So sorry for your loss. I loved her Kansas video for Twelve and Clara. It perfectly captured the sadness and beauty of their relationship. She had such a way of distilling the essence of DW characters and their relationships.
maia: (Ent)

[personal profile] maia 2021-03-21 03:18 pm (UTC)(link)
"Hallelujah" and "Gonna Get Through This World" are my two favorite vids of all time, I have watched them countless times. My 82-year-old mother loves them as much as I do.

elisi: (Metaphors by promethia_tenk)

[personal profile] elisi 2022-10-25 01:31 pm (UTC)(link)
I opened this in a tab back when you first posted it, and have just... kept it there. And now I am more than a year late, but in my head it's like if I reply to this post she's properly gone.

Which I think is one of the things about online friendships - they exist virtually, and often sporadically, so it's difficult to compute that you'll never see a post again, or a comment.

All that said, then Phoebe is one of the very very few fandom friends I have met IRL (the list is: lillianmorgan, the_royal_anna, purplefringe and kerk_hiraeth). I was doing a book signing in London in (goes to check) December 2012 (blimey that's a long time ago) - anyway, I had written an essay for Chicks Unravel Time, and Phoebe came along, which was delightful, because I didn't know anyone, and it was even more brilliant because she did have a purple fringe! (Did I meet you too? Or was she off to meet you afterwards? My mind is a sieve and I don't appear to have written anything down from back then... )

Anyway, the main thing is that she was one of the very few people who saw the world the way I did - and could make the vids that I am always imagining in my head, but am unable to create. 'Never Look Away' is basically a look inside my head, and then I got to help out with 'Pompeii' and it was beyond delightful. ('Over the Rainbow' is possibly the most happy and joyful video ever. ♥)

And then came Good Omens and her AMAZING videos (that, again, I got to help out with a tiny bit) and she was so annoyed that we didn't get Crowley-sleeping-on-the-ceiling in the Extras on the DVDs... and maybe this is why I never wrote anything, because I can't wrap my head around the fact that she won't be there for S2. And that she won't make the Dhawan!Master vid that could rival 'Blank Space'. And that I will never be able to nag her into making a Clara & Twelve vid to 'Cedarwood Road'.

But - I am so grateful to have known her. To have shared a very specific and wonderful fannish love with someone so delightful.

And now I shall have to go watch her Hamlet vid again - she was very unhappy with it (even though I told her it was wonderful), and I still think it's amazing, just the way she was. Thank you for everything you have done to keep her memory and your friendship alive. ♥
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