(no subject)
Oct. 11th, 2005 09:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elucrehThe eternal Witching Hour update:
BEGINS
On the way to pick up TC at the airport, the car runs out of gas. Smack dab in the middle of the freeway. Half an hour from anyone who might be persuaded to come and bring me gas. And I was already ten minutes late for her plane. I beat my head against the steering wheel and tried to come up with a plan. Then, miracle of miracles, an angel appears.
Well, actually, he was a man who looked about sixty years old. But he was an angel--he offered to take me to buy gas and get my car moving again.
I had just gotten away from my parents and their "don't get raped" lecture, so I was wary. I was cautious. I was late.
Besides, he looked too old to rape me.
SO I get in his car and we drive off, and we fill the gas carton thingy with gas, and we drive about the very nonsensical freeway exits trying to find my car again, all the while trying to make polite conversation. I mention I'm going to a Harry Potter convention--his daughters read HP, and he's read them to keep up with the girls.
I spent half an hour discussing Horcrux theory with an old man who stopped to help me when I ran out of gas on the freeway. MOST EXCELLENT OMEN.
I pick up TC. We laugh, we chat, we go home, where she crashes and I pack. We go to the airport.
I have no ID.
I panic. The airport people are exasperated but helpful. I go through extra security and can go (I got through security faster than Thalia).
I NEVER WANT TO FLY WITH A SINUS INFECTION AGAIN. EVER, DO YOU HEAR ME?
Fiasco at the hotel, where the people are all idiots. Really, they were, they demonstrated this throughout our trip.
TC tells me she is never travelling with me again, at intervals. *glomps TC*
As we were opening our room for the first time, the girls across the hall were just leaving theirs. The one in the doorway smiles. "Hi, you look like you're here for the convention. I'm Robin--my handle is![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
starrysummer."
LU: OMG, what an honor. I love your work! It's so exciting to meet you! (Er, I think I was less articulate. Probably my jaw hung open rather more than that.)
ROBIN: Who are you?
LU: I'm Elucreh, you would know me as.
NEW GIRL-FROM-ROOM-ACROSS-THE-HALL: Elucreh, hi! *gives big hug*
LU: *hugs back* Um, who are you?
NEW GIRL: I'm Marks.
LU: Marks? Marks, Marks? As in,marksykins Marks? *is struck dumb* Um...wow. WOW. Hi.
GIRLS IN ROOM ACROSS THE HALL: *laugh nicely and have pleasant conversation about how to pronounce Marks's handle (I got it wrong.)*
LU: *is swept into hotel room, still stunned, thinking, She recognised my name? She hugged me? Me?*
After we'd dumped our junk, we went down to register/meetleftsockarchive, who is nice, and beautiful, and awesomeness. And then we went to the parade, where we met other people, including (OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG) thetreacletart, who really honestly IS the MOST AWESOME PERSON IN THE UNIVERSE EVER. She so totally ROCKS MY WORLD AND ALL OTHER WORLDS EVER. *blows glomps and snogs to Lydia* She is not ONLY one of the most talented people in this fandom, but she ALSO is incredibly nice and down to earth and has a gorgeous accent. There were also abigail89 and Mei, whose LJ name I can't remember, but they were also very cool people. Also, the GM for the parade was Chris Rankin (Percy, you know) who stopped near us and asked if we were having a nice time, we got lots of good pictures. (Later, I caught him in the lobby and got my picture took with him.) I think he is better looking in the movies, but he was awfully nice, nonetheless.
And then there was a fiasco with the bus situation, but it resulted in our meetingsproutgirl who, you know, I scared by shrieking when she said who she was (but OMG SPROUTGIRL, who is very much with the awesomeness and the talent and OMG she also is SO NICE and fun to talk to), and she fangirled TC and all of us fangirled her and there were pictures. Also with her was TwilightPosies, who I'm not sure of her LJ handle because she has, like, three SNs, but it was fun to meet her, too, because we started at CM at the same time.
We went to the feast--where everyone else was a Ravenclaw so I had to sit all alone by my little self--and then I went to the H/D RoR, which was filled with people whose work I love. It was so much fun...we sat about in a circle and introduced ourselves, and it was most excellent fun to hear people gasp and shriek as the BNFs introduced themselves. Then most of them got up and headed to the PP RoR, and I tagged along. I was a groupie, except instead of being one of many people fangirling one person, I was one person fangirling a group of many. And they were all very nice to me, and patient with my shrieking and grinning. Marks said I was cute when I ordered soda and ice cream while everybody else was ordering their drinks. (What? My throat hurt.) I made everybody laugh with something I wrote, which is going to become a series, illustrated bywcspegasus, later. After that, we all met up for the showing of PS, which was fun because it was all MST3K, and I am going to run a challenge later for what came out of our shouting.
The programming was so much FUN. It was AMAZING to talk intelligently about theories and speculation and characterisation. I got to hear some stuff I haven't heard before, I got to share some of my ideas and get them shot down (yes, that was fun, too) and I got to meet really cool people.
My own presentation was maybe 5 people who were truly interested and 12-16 who knew me and were there in support, but still mostly contributed intelligent remarks, so that was good.
I missed TC's because I got lost. A lot.
Tammy Pierce is AMAZING in person. There will be quotes. Also, I now have a very FULL reading list.
I waited in line for THREE HOURS to get a glockgal sketch for Ady. And then LOST IT. OMG, how CAN I be this stupid?
I wasn't expecting great things. 500 women and twelve men at a dance. Does this make anyone else think of middle school? But you know what? It ROCKED.
I will go through the rest of my life with the memory of a huge, high-ceilinged-room filled with women singing out, loud and proud and full of love: "It's raining men, HALLELUJAH! It's raining men!", raising their arms to the sky and their voices to the gods. Big groups of us, all throwing ourselves into the music and the movement, no one we worried about seeing us watching...
The nice thing about the internet, everybody says, is that there's no prejudice, no worrying about how you're dressed or how you look, complete openness about who you feel you are.
The nice thing about conventions is, people still don't care. We had big girls and tiny ones, old ones and young ones--but they're our friends, we make no judgements, because we already know them. There was none of the hesitancy about getting carried away in the music, about looking ridiculous in front of people we'd just met. We were with our closest friends, who we know and trust...and even those we didn't already know, we at least knew they were a part of our great and vast sisterhood, bound by the love of the slash and the Harry Potter...at least the latter, anyway.
I have never felt such a feeling of I am one of them with such a big group. Moments like that are rare even among my sister- (and brother)-souled friends, and there has never been more than sixteen of us. But Sunday night was hundreds of people amongst whom I felt welcomed and strengthened, with whom I felt unified.
Damn, I love my fandom sometimes. *blows hugs and kisses all over TWH attendees*
BEGINS
On the way to pick up TC at the airport, the car runs out of gas. Smack dab in the middle of the freeway. Half an hour from anyone who might be persuaded to come and bring me gas. And I was already ten minutes late for her plane. I beat my head against the steering wheel and tried to come up with a plan. Then, miracle of miracles, an angel appears.
Well, actually, he was a man who looked about sixty years old. But he was an angel--he offered to take me to buy gas and get my car moving again.
I had just gotten away from my parents and their "don't get raped" lecture, so I was wary. I was cautious. I was late.
Besides, he looked too old to rape me.
SO I get in his car and we drive off, and we fill the gas carton thingy with gas, and we drive about the very nonsensical freeway exits trying to find my car again, all the while trying to make polite conversation. I mention I'm going to a Harry Potter convention--his daughters read HP, and he's read them to keep up with the girls.
I spent half an hour discussing Horcrux theory with an old man who stopped to help me when I ran out of gas on the freeway. MOST EXCELLENT OMEN.
I pick up TC. We laugh, we chat, we go home, where she crashes and I pack. We go to the airport.
I have no ID.
I panic. The airport people are exasperated but helpful. I go through extra security and can go (I got through security faster than Thalia).
I NEVER WANT TO FLY WITH A SINUS INFECTION AGAIN. EVER, DO YOU HEAR ME?
Fiasco at the hotel, where the people are all idiots. Really, they were, they demonstrated this throughout our trip.
TC tells me she is never travelling with me again, at intervals. *glomps TC*
As we were opening our room for the first time, the girls across the hall were just leaving theirs. The one in the doorway smiles. "Hi, you look like you're here for the convention. I'm Robin--my handle is
starrysummer." LU: OMG, what an honor. I love your work! It's so exciting to meet you! (Er, I think I was less articulate. Probably my jaw hung open rather more than that.)
ROBIN: Who are you?
LU: I'm Elucreh, you would know me as.
NEW GIRL-FROM-ROOM-ACROSS-THE-HALL: Elucreh, hi! *gives big hug*
LU: *hugs back* Um, who are you?
NEW GIRL: I'm Marks.
LU: Marks? Marks, Marks? As in,
marksykins Marks? *is struck dumb* Um...wow. WOW. Hi. GIRLS IN ROOM ACROSS THE HALL: *laugh nicely and have pleasant conversation about how to pronounce Marks's handle (I got it wrong.)*
LU: *is swept into hotel room, still stunned, thinking, She recognised my name? She hugged me? Me?*
After we'd dumped our junk, we went down to register/meet
leftsockarchive, who is nice, and beautiful, and awesomeness. And then we went to the parade, where we met other people, including (OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG) thetreacletart, who really honestly IS the MOST AWESOME PERSON IN THE UNIVERSE EVER. She so totally ROCKS MY WORLD AND ALL OTHER WORLDS EVER. *blows glomps and snogs to Lydia* She is not ONLY one of the most talented people in this fandom, but she ALSO is incredibly nice and down to earth and has a gorgeous accent. There were also abigail89 and Mei, whose LJ name I can't remember, but they were also very cool people. Also, the GM for the parade was Chris Rankin (Percy, you know) who stopped near us and asked if we were having a nice time, we got lots of good pictures. (Later, I caught him in the lobby and got my picture took with him.) I think he is better looking in the movies, but he was awfully nice, nonetheless. And then there was a fiasco with the bus situation, but it resulted in our meeting
sproutgirl who, you know, I scared by shrieking when she said who she was (but OMG SPROUTGIRL, who is very much with the awesomeness and the talent and OMG she also is SO NICE and fun to talk to), and she fangirled TC and all of us fangirled her and there were pictures. Also with her was TwilightPosies, who I'm not sure of her LJ handle because she has, like, three SNs, but it was fun to meet her, too, because we started at CM at the same time. We went to the feast--where everyone else was a Ravenclaw so I had to sit all alone by my little self--and then I went to the H/D RoR, which was filled with people whose work I love. It was so much fun...we sat about in a circle and introduced ourselves, and it was most excellent fun to hear people gasp and shriek as the BNFs introduced themselves. Then most of them got up and headed to the PP RoR, and I tagged along. I was a groupie, except instead of being one of many people fangirling one person, I was one person fangirling a group of many. And they were all very nice to me, and patient with my shrieking and grinning. Marks said I was cute when I ordered soda and ice cream while everybody else was ordering their drinks. (What? My throat hurt.) I made everybody laugh with something I wrote, which is going to become a series, illustrated by
wcspegasus, later. After that, we all met up for the showing of PS, which was fun because it was all MST3K, and I am going to run a challenge later for what came out of our shouting. The programming was so much FUN. It was AMAZING to talk intelligently about theories and speculation and characterisation. I got to hear some stuff I haven't heard before, I got to share some of my ideas and get them shot down (yes, that was fun, too) and I got to meet really cool people.
My own presentation was maybe 5 people who were truly interested and 12-16 who knew me and were there in support, but still mostly contributed intelligent remarks, so that was good.
I missed TC's because I got lost. A lot.
Tammy Pierce is AMAZING in person. There will be quotes. Also, I now have a very FULL reading list.
I waited in line for THREE HOURS to get a glockgal sketch for Ady. And then LOST IT. OMG, how CAN I be this stupid?
I wasn't expecting great things. 500 women and twelve men at a dance. Does this make anyone else think of middle school? But you know what? It ROCKED.
I will go through the rest of my life with the memory of a huge, high-ceilinged-room filled with women singing out, loud and proud and full of love: "It's raining men, HALLELUJAH! It's raining men!", raising their arms to the sky and their voices to the gods. Big groups of us, all throwing ourselves into the music and the movement, no one we worried about seeing us watching...
The nice thing about the internet, everybody says, is that there's no prejudice, no worrying about how you're dressed or how you look, complete openness about who you feel you are.
The nice thing about conventions is, people still don't care. We had big girls and tiny ones, old ones and young ones--but they're our friends, we make no judgements, because we already know them. There was none of the hesitancy about getting carried away in the music, about looking ridiculous in front of people we'd just met. We were with our closest friends, who we know and trust...and even those we didn't already know, we at least knew they were a part of our great and vast sisterhood, bound by the love of the slash and the Harry Potter...at least the latter, anyway.
I have never felt such a feeling of I am one of them with such a big group. Moments like that are rare even among my sister- (and brother)-souled friends, and there has never been more than sixteen of us. But Sunday night was hundreds of people amongst whom I felt welcomed and strengthened, with whom I felt unified.
Damn, I love my fandom sometimes. *blows hugs and kisses all over TWH attendees*
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-11 10:25 am (UTC)So much I want to squee and talk about, but via LJ comments is a bit daunting. We will have to wait until I am home, but...
1. MST3K did PS?!?!? I know they stopped the shows in the late 90's, but what is this? Was this truly done by the MST3K people or a good rip-off? I must own a copy of this.
2. What airport/city did this happen in? Boston?
3. Tamora Pierece quotes, please.
So much more, obviously, but first and foremost I'm glad nothing disastrous happened and that you had more than just fun, you had what sounds to be one of the most memorable trips ever.
*hugs you*
(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-11 02:44 pm (UTC)2. Pretty sure it was our home base.
3. Yes. ^_^
(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-11 06:01 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-11 08:39 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-11 10:29 am (UTC)...and you are coming to Lumos, yes? 'Cos there's no way I'm missing that. :D
(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-11 06:05 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-11 10:42 am (UTC)Wasn't that fantastic? I had such a blast at the ball Sunday night. I haven't danced, or laughed, so hard in years. It was wonderful meeting you. But I hope your trip back to Utah was better than mine back to Wisconsin. I just got home 2 hours ago!
(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-11 11:26 am (UTC)That is so cool, I am so envious of you! And it sounds like you had the best time too. *hugs*
(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-11 06:06 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-11 03:08 pm (UTC)Here are some Tammy quotes I jotted down in my notebook:
When asked which character she based on her HS boyfriend, she quipped, "You know Duke Roger, right? I killed him twice."
"Gayer than a robin in a household of chickadees."
When Charles de Lint said he had no way of fully understanding a woman's viewpoint, she blurted, "You possess the invasive genitalia!"
(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-11 06:07 pm (UTC)*friends people*
(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-11 03:32 pm (UTC)"Besides, he looked too old to rape me."
*beats you about the head* You better be joking, or I seriously will hit you when I get home.
"I waited in line for THREE HOURS to get a glockgal sketch for Ady. And then LOST IT."
...*snorfle* Ah well, it's the thought and amusement that counts. ^_^
Glad you had fun, luv!
(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-11 06:08 pm (UTC)Really, he looked like he would have to take Viagra first. I swear.
Well, so long as you got something out of it...*sigh*
(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-11 07:46 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-11 07:55 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-12 12:17 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-11 03:49 pm (UTC)(and I only feel a little bit left out)
(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-11 06:08 pm (UTC)We missed you! *hugs*
(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-11 07:38 pm (UTC)I missed you guys, too. Hellaciously. Crickets have been chirping on my flist since you've been gone. And I've been sick! *coughs and sniffles pitifully*
But YAY THAT YOU HAD FUN! :DDDD
(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-12 02:56 am (UTC)And I never want to hear about you getting in a car with an old man again.
It was great to meet you too. You have been friended.
Love from,
sproutgirl
(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-12 12:03 pm (UTC)~T
(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-12 04:28 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-20 09:12 pm (UTC)You are now my official Fanart GODDESS.
How did you even find out...???
Never mind. I LOVE YOU. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.
And yes, if it isn't too much trouble, I would love to have the hard copy to give to Ady...I will e-mail you my address.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-20 09:34 pm (UTC)I'm so glad you like it and thanks for your email! I'll be mailing a bunch of stuff soon enough, so yours'll be included in the pile. *MWAH!*