Merry Christmas, Happy Hogswatch, etc. to all!

I want to finish the story of my first paper at Kalamazoo now. To recap: I presented my first paper at the Medieval Congress in Kalamazoo last spring on Merlin.'Yes, the BBC's Merlin. Moving on.

( This is the conclusion of my adventures in presenting my first big academic conference paper on Merlin )

Current Mood: geeky
Current Music: Christmas playlist

( icon )

Well, that semester's over. Let's try this again, shall we?

I'll finish posting about Kalamazoo hopefully tomorrow, but I wanted to just briefly share something awesome that happened at the beginning of this month. Catherine Taber, who voices Padme Amidala on The Clone Wars-- which yes, I do watch, thankyouverymuch, it is good stuff-- tweeted a link to an article in which she discussed her work with Star Wars. She is in the unique position of having voiced both Leia and Padme for various animated Lucasfilm projects, and she loves both of them. What's more, she and I share that we were introduced to Star Wars later than most, and that we connected to Padme.

I haven't been shy about saying that I liked Padme more easily than I liked Leia at first, and I still think that she's awesome, albeit in a slightly different way than I did six years ago. After all of my fanfic research and ruminations, I really feel like I have come to understand how that character works. So has Catherine Taber. From the first interview with her that I read, which was several years ago now, I was fist-pumping and going, Yessss! at just about everything she said. Catherine Taber gets Padme Amidala, she thinks that Padme is awesome, and she will defend her with the best of them. As a thoughtful fan, I really appreciate that. And I decided to take advantage of social media to say so:

lilyhandmaiden Erin Chandler

@cattaber I love it when you talk about Padme's character. You really do her justice, both in Clone Wars and interviews. Thank you!

I wasn't expecting a reply, but the next day I woke up to find two emails in my inbox notifying me that, first

catherine taber @cattaber favorited your Tweet:

and second, that she replied to me!

cattaber catherine taber

@lilyhandmaiden Thank you for the kind words Erin, I really appreciate it! c

Dec 03, 10:37 AM via web

Which caused me to flail like the fangirl I am for a few minutes. ("PADME AMIDALA KNOWS WHO I AM!") I'm so glad that I got to be on Catherine Taber's radar for a few seconds, one Padme advocate to another, maybe brighten her day a little, and let her know how much her fans enjoy and appreciate what she does. So thank you, Catherine! Rock on for geek girls everywhere!

No matter how many other fandoms come into my life, Star Wars will always always have a special place in my heart, due in part to things like this. I love being a Star Wars fan.<3

Current Mood: determined

I'm running out of time to post today, and I'm tired, and I have lesson planning to do, but I am not copping out of a journal entry for the day! It will just have to be a short one.

Last fall I took a Latin class in which one of the assignments was to compose a dialogue using a bunch of medical/physiological terms and some other vocab and grammatical features. I don't really see the point of Latin composition assignments, since English-to-Latin is not something I or anyone else I can think of will ever actually have to do, but I could at least make the assignment fun.

So, basically, I wrote Merlin fanfic in Latin.

You can probably tell that I did this assignment shortly after "The Crystal Cave" aired. I decided to call Merlin "Ambrosius," which is the Latin name by which Geoffrey of Monmouth identifies him ("Merlin, who was also called Ambrosius..."), in order to not make my cunning plan too obvious. This ended up being probably the most enjoyable composition I did all semester. I got to render, "When Arthur is king, things will be different" into Latin. :)

Latin:
Ambrosius, servus Artoriī, currit domum avunculī suī, cuius nōmen Gaius est. Gaius medicus est. Ambrosius refert sorōrem Artoriī, fēminam magnae pulchritūdinis, aegram esse.
Gaius: “Arbitrābam eam herī sanam esse.”
Ambrosius: “Nōn hodiē caput eius, sed enim crūs aegrum est. Per silvam equitūra erat, sed summō equō iēcta est. Itaque crūs nocitum est.”
Gaius: “Illa īnfēlīcissima est! Mēnse proximō cecidit et frontem īcit. Nunc crūs aegrum est.”
Ambrosius: “Potesne eam sanāre? Ea patrī vītā est cārior. Etenim pater rēx est!”
Gaius: “Proficiscar statim. Rēx solet civēs interficere, sī nōn laetus sit.”
Ambrosius: “Multō benignior est Artorius quam pater. Artoriō rēge, dissimilēs erunt rēs.”

English translation:
Ambrosius, Artorius’s servant, runs to the home of his uncle, whose name is Gaius. Gaius is a doctor. Ambrosius reports that Artorius’s sister, a woman of great beauty, is unwell.
Gaius: “I thought that she was well yesterday.”
Ambrosius: “Not her head today, but in fact her leg is unwell. She was going to ride through the forest, but she was thrown from the top of her horse. Therefore her leg was injured.”
Gaius: “That girl is most unfortunate! Last month she fell and hit her forehead. Now her leg is unwell.”
Ambrosius: “Can you heal her? She is dearer to her father than his own life. And indeed her father is the king!”
Gaius: “I will set forth immediately. The king is accustomed to kill citizens, if he should be unhappy.”
Ambrosius: “Artorius is much kinder than his father. When Artorius is king, things will be different.”

Current Mood: anxious

This bit of catch-up news actually begins about a year ago. In fact, this story was in development over the course of last fall and winter, while I was still posting, but I was so afraid and half convinced that something would prevent it from actually going through that I decided not to mention it until after the event had taken place.

( This is the story of how I came to present my first big-academic-conference paper on the BBC's Merlin. )

So that was all going on, and I DIDN'T WANT TO TELL YOU and jinx it. This has been a prelude to my next entry, which will be about the conference itself.

Current Mood: busy

Hi! So, it's been... what, nine months? Um. Yeah.

This absence started out being because of school. You know how at the end of every semester of grad school I declare it to have been the worst semester ever? Spring 2011 was the WORST SEMESTER EVER. But then the summer happened, so that excuse doesn't really apply except that it took me that long to recover. And then some other stuff happened. When people ask me how my summer was, the best response I can give is, "Eventful." It was an eventful summer.

Well, in short, I've been wanting to start lj-ing again for a while, and the realization that today is Merlin premiere day again has jolted me into action at last. In fact, I'm going to try my hardest to embark on a Blog Every Day in October project, because I have lots of ~feelings~ and lots of stuff that has happened over the past months to relate.

These things include, but are not limited to:
*I started watching and fell in love with Doctor Who!
*I presented a paper at Kalamazoo!
*I went to France!
*I went to Canada!
*My computer died and I got a new computer! In fact, this is Sarah Jane Smithtop's debut on this blog. Everyone say hi to Sarah Jane!
*I started watching and fell in love with Downton Abbey!

Intrigued? Keep watching this space for the slow unfolding of the details on these things and more. Also lots of pictures of castles and cathedrals.

Oh! Also I have a Tumblr now because pictures. http://lily-handmaiden.tumblr.com/. Mostly I just reblog stuff that I like with occasional commentary, but I'm also sporadically using it as a commonplace book to blog quotes I like.

I hope to get back into writing stories and fanfics soon as well, but I've been blocked for quite a while. Hopefully this journaling will help put a stop to that.

Current Mood: hungry
Current Music: Merlin season 1 on in the background

All right, they're the old year's icons. But once these are posted I am ALL CAUGHT UP ON POSTING ICONS! :)

Merlin (48)
13 Sword in the stone
6 Cup of Life
6 Freya
14 Freya's arm
8 Misc., including Morgana, Uther, Morgause, Sir Leon, and Arthur

01. 02. 03. 04. 05.

( 43 more )

Clone Wars (22)
4 Ahsoka
1 Anakin
9 Anakin/Padme
4 Padme

49.

50.

51.

52.

53.

( 17 more )

Star Wars (7)
3 Anakin/Padme
4 Padme

71.

72.

73.

( 4 more )

Misc. (11)
2 Vlogbrothers
1 Hyperbole and a Half
3 The Office
1 Harry Potter
3 Hark, a Vagrant!
1 Secret Life of Dolls

78.

79.

80.

81.

82.

83.

( 5 more )

Current Music: "The Apartment"

I figured I'd better post the Merlin icons I've made this season before tomorrow's finale.

1 Merlin
1 Gwen and Morgana
4 Morgana and Morgause
12 Morgana
1 Merlin, Morgana, and Morgause

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

( 14 more )

Current Mood: tired
Current Music: "The Dog Days Are Over"

FINALLY. This chapter has required me to create a general Theory of Magic in Merlin and go through two major revisions. My eternal thanks go to my beta, Bethany, for holding my hand through all that. And for not being afraid to point out that what I was saying initially didn't make sense. :)

Nerd Jokes!: I looked up the blostma spell Merlin uses in "Lady of the Lake," and I'm pretty sure the fact that Freya asks for a strawberry and gets a rose is a linguistic joke. The Old English word, "blostma," can mean "blossom," "flower," or "fruit." I play with that a little in this chapter. Also, Bethany and I decided that Morgana and Gwen are constantly rearranging Morgana's chambers after I repeatedly failed to figure out a consistent layout for that set.

Title: Who Follow the Gleam
Fandom: Merlin
Pairing: Merlin/Morgana (or hints thereof)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 4,207
Disclaimer: Merlin belongs to the BBC. I mean no infringement.
Summary: AU season 2, post-"Lancelot and Guinevere." "Before he knew it, he was saying, 'You're not alone. I'm like you.'" Merlin and Morgana take destiny into their own hands.

( Chapter 3: Of Woven Paces and of Waving Hands )

Back to chapter 2

Current Mood: jubilant

( icon )

Yesterday evening, in the midst of trying to grade students' prospecti and lesson plan and write my own paper proposal, I came across this story about Katie and her Star Wars water bottle. Of course I wrote a comment of encouragement for Katie here; I think I was the nine-hundred-somethingeth comment, and this morning there were over two thousand. I defy you, even now, to go to Twitter and put in #MayTheForceBeWithKatie and not get a huge grin on your face. As the night wore on and I watched this happen, I wrote an entry about what this story and the response to it means to me, but I forced myself not to post it until I was done with all the stuff I had due today. Here it is now:

I don’t know how to describe how elated I am right now, and I can’t blame it all on sleeplessness, caffeine intake, stress, and the approaching break. I am practically giddy because Star Wars, its fandom, and the internet are reaching out to one little girl who got picked on at school for being herself.

( I love that Katie is a hero. )

Current Mood: geeky
Current Music: Hank Green, "Nerdfighteria Island"

( icon )

So, I'm not sure whether this is any good or not. It could go either way. Lately my approach to writing has been of what I like to call the "hit and run" variety, wherein I don't have time to actually work on my big projects, but every now and then I get an idea I can't shake and feel the urge to sit down, bang out a one-shot, and not get up until it's done several hours later. Then I go back to, usually, my Latin. But the fourth part did inspire me to steal the title from Yeats, so at least there's that. Let me know what you think, if you feel so inclined.

Title: The Widening Gyre
Fandom: Merlin
Characters: Morgana, Merlin, Gaius
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,855
Disclaimer: Merlin belongs to the BBC. I mean no infringement.
Summary: Vignettes set during "Love in the Time of Dragons." Merlin and Gaius confront Morgana for the actions she has not taken.

( He lay so still and wan that he could almost have been dead already. )

Current Mood: contemplative

( icon )
Happy Halloween! This evening, as I take a break from Latin to eat my dinner, I thought I'd share a bit of the weekly conversation Bethany and I had about the latest Merlin episode. We spent some time trying to figure out what defining characteristics Grettir would assign to Lancelot, Gwen, and Morgana. Hopefully, Bethany won't mind me posting this here, because I thought it was priceless.

This is from memory, but really recent memory, so I think it's fairly accurate. I've marked a few instances of extreme laughter, but to get an accurate idea of this conversation, you have to imagine us giggling throughout.

Me: “If Arthur is Courage, Merlin is Magic, and Gwaine is Strength, what would Lancelot be?”

Bethany: “Passion?”

( Yeah, that might be good. I was thinking something like Handsomeness. )

And thus, the Dream Team of Courage, Magic, Strength, Honor, Love, and ~~Well-Intentioned Narcissism~~ Passion. What do you think? What qualities would you, dear readers, assign to the Merlin characters?

Current Mood: cheerful
Current Music: Tanz der Vampire

And now, my final round of theatre-related icons. This time, the most underrated of '80's rock operas, Chess!

[7] 2008 concert cast
[15] quotes

1.

( 14 more quotes, 4 more Florence )

Current Mood: hungry

I've been storing these up for... longer than I'd like to admit, and now that I'm caught up on homework and caught up on grading, it seems like the perfect time to do yet another MASSIVE ICON POST. The theme: Wicked.

7 Original Broadway Cast (Kristin Chenoweth as Galinda)
57 Original Stuttgart Cast (Willemijn Verkaik as Elphaba, Lucy Scherer as G[a]linda, Mark Seibert as Fiyero)
--48 with English text, 9 with German text

1. 2. 3. 4.

( 60 more )

Current Mood: determined

( icon )

I don't usually do reaction posts, at least not so quickly, but I probably won't be able to talk to Bethany about the latest Merlin episode until tomorrow, and I wanted to get my thoughts down while they were fresh so I wouldn't forget, and then I was like, hey, this could be a post. I will break it down into sections.

Quick Thoughts:

( Geography and Elyan and Destiny and Incest )

Not-So-Quick Thoughts, In Two Parts:

Part the first, Morgana.

( MORGANAAAA! *fist shake* )

Part the second, Morgause, Cenred, and their political machinations (complete with outline).

( I LOVE MORGAUSE and I LOVE CENRED UNTO ETERNITY and I DO NOT TRUST EITHER OF THEM FARTHER THAN I COULD THROW THEM. )

Overall, I felt this was a really good, strong episode. I might not have liked everything that happened in it, but it definitely kept me entertained. And I'm really looking forward to seeing where the rest of the season is going.

Current Mood: cheerful

( icon )

Watching "The Crystal Cave" almost gave me a nervous breakdown. It took me a while (and a really long phone call with Bethany) to work out my feelings on it, but I did like it. I feel like I'd need to watch it again to really appreciate it, and I don't think I have the energy to do that at present. I certainly don't have the time.

I wanted to do some kind of post about this episode. I thought about doing an actual review, I thought about just doing an "I CALLED IT!" post-- because I DID, Merlin fans, while watching the season premiere. (I actually had it called for most of the first season, but then the show lulled me into complacency. If that's how they're going to play, I'm half tempted to put my farfetched "Druid Boy From the Future" idea back on the table.) But when I got up this morning, my thoughts came out in fanfic form.

This is basically a combination of filling in the gaps and speculation raised by the episode. I'm spelling Morgana's mom's name "Vivien," because that's how Tennyson spells it and I don't have access to a closed-captioned version of the episode. Many thanks to the amazing Bethany for beta-reading this so quickly.

Title: More Than You Will Ever Know
Fandom: Merlin
Characters: Uther, Morgana, Vivien, Gorlois, Morgause, Nimueh
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,941
Disclaimer: Merlin belongs to the BBC. I mean no infringement.
Summary: Spoilers through "The Crystal Cave." Morgana's destiny, as shaped by her parents.

( He had never been sure. That was the hardest thing. If he’d only known for certain, one way or the other, he’d have had a better idea of how to deal with Morgana. )

Current Mood: sleepy

I will post about other things again eventually. I just had a list of Merlin things I wanted to post before the premiere, and I didn't have time to earlier in the week, and now it's down to the wire. I have seriously not been this excited about a season premiere in years. What have I become?

I'm separating the series 3 icons from the rest, because there are minor spoilers in them for approximately 7-8 more hours. But altogether we have...

20 Morgana (technically, one of them is Katie)
4 Merlin/Morgana
1 Arthur (well, Bradley)
1 Gwen
2 Sir Leon
6 Uther and Morgana

1. 2. 3.

( 15 more for series 1-2 )

( Series 3 filming and trailer )

Bonus! Medieval manuscripts and a tapestry!

35.

36.

37.

38.

35: the Bayeux tapestry. This icon is an adaptation of Kate Beaton's comic on the same event
36: identified on

cleolinda 's journal as "the origin of fangirling."
37-8: Cotton Nero a.x, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight! This illumination cracks me up every time I see it. Also, the Beheading Game is the best game.

Current Mood: busy

Today has been a successful day of teaching Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (the second section was pretty much a Morgan le Fay party, which was awesome) and finding out that one of my students is also a Merlin fan (professional fangirl squeeing is professional... or perhaps not). Now I want to get one more chapter of this story posted before tomorrow's premiere. For which, let me say, I am SO EXCITED.

Thanks again and again to Bethany for beta reading and being generally wonderful.

Title: Who Follow the Gleam
Fandom: Merlin
Pairing: Merlin/Morgana (or hints thereof)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 5,871
Disclaimer: Merlin belongs to the BBC. I mean no infringement.
Summary: AU season 2, post-"Lancelot and Guinevere." "Before he knew it, he was saying, 'You're not alone. I'm like you.'" Merlin and Morgana take destiny into their own hands.

( Chapter 2: Reverdie )

Back to chapter 1 On to chapter 3

Current Mood: cheerful

( icon )

About a month ago, I read Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. It made me have a lot of thoughts. Normal people on the internet express their enthusiasm about books and movies and TV shows with keyboard smashes and gifs. I do things like write essays that somehow end up being over 11 pages long and then wonder how it happened. It is called "pulling an Erin."

And I have done it again.

( Fine, I'll say it-- it just won't let you go. It's that kind of book. It haunts you. )

Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: Scala Choir, "Creep"

Major, major thanks to Bethany for being my beta reader and primary audience for this.

I've been working on this fic for a while, and I hope to keep working on it for quite a while, because it makes me happy. Don't judge me. I've always wanted to try an AU in which nobody goes horribly out of character (hopefully). This is my first earnest attempt. It picks up soon after 2.04, "Lancelot and Guinevere." I really think that if Morgana had confronted Merlin about her magic just one more time...

Title: Who Follow the Gleam
Fandom: Merlin
Pairing: Merlin/Morgana (or hints thereof)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 6,098
Disclaimer: Merlin belongs to the BBC. I mean no infringement.
Summary: AU season 2, post-"Lancelot and Guinevere." "Before he knew it, he was saying, 'You're not alone. I'm like you.'" Merlin and Morgana take destiny into their own hands.

“There is nothing on this earth can know all possible futures. … It was real, but it was just one reality. The future is as yet unshaped. It is we that shape it. It is you, Merlin—the decisions you make, the actions you take. Remember that.”-Gaius, “The Witch’s Quickening”

( Chapter 1: Half Sick of Shadows )

Current Mood: nervous
Current Music: Carpe Noctem

Today I saw Eclipse with Bethany, in accordance with our tradition of going to see and laugh at every Twilight film together. This one was interesting in that I'm not sure how much of it was funny on purpose and how much was funny on accident. Bethany is right: the scenes with Charlie are always the funniest funny-on-purpose scenes. Spoilers: (Especially, in this one, "I kissed Bella. And she broke her hand. On my face." ) Even with all the stupid they apparently took out in the book-to-movie translation, Bella irritates me so much that I've decided the main thing I'm rooting for is for Alice to get to throw a successful party. This whole series, all Alice has wanted, I'm convinced, is to throw a party where nothing goes horribly awry. I want her to have that. That is a reasonable goal.

In commemoration of this event, I have decided to post all of the icons I've made over the past semester for my actual favorite bit of vampire pop culture, Tanz der Vampire. This, you may remember, is the German vampire musical I discovered last summer while studying for my German exam. It is a cheesetastic, awesome, no-holds-barred, Jim-Steinman-music-ed, consciously melodramatic, gothic festival of silliness. The whole thing can be found here with English subtitles on the youtube, but shhh don't tell anyone so it doesn't get taken down. (Also note that the subtitles on the dialogue are fine, but on the songs they are awful for a variety of reasons I won't go into right now.)

( A brief explanation )

Preview:

1.

( 60 more )

Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: "Sich verlieren heisst sich befreien..."

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Recent Entries

This Is Not Serious Business: My First Paper at Kalamazoo, Part 2

Being a Star Wars fan is still pretty awesome

catherine taber @cattaber favorited your Tweet:

Vita Merlini

This Is Not Serious Business: My First Paper at Kalamazoo, Part 1

Still alive

New Year's Icons

A quick icon post

Who Follow the Gleam: Chapter 3

Thanksgiving Come Early: May the Force Be With Katie

The Widening Gyre (Merlin fic)

What other qualities might have shown up to Arthur's surprise party?

Chess icons!

ALL OF THE WICKED ICONS

Thoughts on "The Castle of Fyrien"

More Than You Will Ever Know (Merlin Fic)

Wrapping up the pre-premiere Merlin-related business

Who Follow the Gleam: Chapter 2

Thoughts on Never Let Me Go, with help from the majestic teal dear

Who Follow the Gleam: Chapter 1

Sei bereit! Icons!