and then there's this....

[selenak]

...aka how I ended up writing 126,686 words in comments since August in a (gloriously whacky and fun) fandom of three, as summed up wonderfully by mildred_of_midgard:


In the fandom of Frederick the Great (& foes, relations, frenemies and hung up biographers)

I'm also tentatively eying the title "1740 and all that" (suggested by Mildred).

The icon I'm using is from an early 80s tv two parter called Der Thronfolger and depicts the most famous Hohenzollern as a kid with his sister Wilhelmine, both secretly reading. As one is wont to do if one's father goes beserk at the mere mention of French literature and Latin lessons. I think that two parter might even have been my first fictional encounter with old, or rather, young Fritz, and thus to blame for my current (re)involvement.

Comments

[radiantfracture]

This looks like so much fun.

[selenak]

It is!

[cahn]

I still don't understand how this is actually happening but it is aaaaamaaaaaaaazing and you and mildred_of_midgard are THE BEST.

I still love your icon :D I also can't wait until after Christmas (gaaaaaah December kicks my butt every year) when I'll actually have some spare time to consume (secondary) canon! (I think it's hilarious that I am super into this canon mostly by osmosis, but your writeups are soooooo great)

[selenak]

You can always pay me back by reviewing, I love reviews and write ups myself. :) But really, it's been so much fun chatting with Mildred and your gracious self about all of this, I loved and love it!

[mildred_of_midgard]

I don't understand it either! In all my fandoms, nothing remotely like this has ever happened to me before. *pinches self*

Can't wait until after Christmas for you! I'll have to start thinking about recs.

[mildred_of_midgard]

Hiiii! It's been great, you're the best, cahn is the best, everything about this fandom is the best.

(& foes, relations, frenemies and hung up biographers)

And the BFFs and BFs! I'm particularly trying to stay on top of Katte, Keith, Fredersdorf, and Algarotti, while you're doing an excellent job of bringing us up to speed on the crazy relations in which he abounds. :DDD

I know it would be too much work to extract the highlights into a real standalone work, or at the very least I would never even think about doing it alone, but the "1740 and All That" title is so tempting.

I also wish to point out that you're up nearly 10,000 words just in the three days since you made this post. *impressed applause*

[selenak]

I doubt I'd have managed to if not challenged by all your comments! Also Algarotti would still be unknown to me, and I would have known the name but not anything about Emilie du Chatelet, while the sheer number of Keiths would still have confused me to assume old Marshal Keith was page Keith grown up. :) Coming up with tales of the crazy relations is the least I could do by way of thanks, particularly since messed up families are my thing.

Our discussions were definitely one of the highlights of my year.

[mildred_of_midgard]

the sheer number of Keiths would still have confused me to assume old Marshal Keith was page Keith grown up.

Oh, wow, glad I could help! I myself definitely had the old Marshal confused with his brother until embarrassingly recently. I swear the Keiths are worse than the Trencks and the Rothenburgs, because there are at least *five* of them! Including two pairs of brothers. It's so bad that one of my books, which is a collection of reproduced and translated-where-necessary primary sources in *German*, files a reference to "Keith" in the text under the Peter entry in the index, when I'm 99% sure it has to be referring to Robert, haha.

So it's good that we diversify. :) I would like to branch out more, and intend to, as health permits.