Attention, everyone!! It’s time for some announcements!!

Things are getting ready to change up a bit here at The Elven Padawan. Nothing super major, but I’m very excited for what I’m bringing on next. 😉

First of all, in the coming months you’ll probably see some new additions to the TEP site. I’m always looking to expand and grow TEP, and as I continue to do that, you’ll see some matching changes in the look of this place, too. Since the news of this new Lord of the Rings show from Amazon broke, I finally decided it was time to add a separate section for Tolkien-related things, and although there’s not much out there for it yet, that will most likely be changing very soon.

Also…

I HAVE NEW ART!!!

Alright, now you may be thinking I’m a tad over-excited about this. But honestly, I’ve been wanting to update that art for so long, and never could figure out what to do with it. And please, don’t anyone take this as a problem with my original artist! My good friend Audrey drew the original art for the podcast, and I still totally love what she did, but I could never figure out how to arrange it and make a logo for The Elven Padawan that I really liked.

But now, the problem has been solved! And therefor I present to you, my readers, my lovely new podcast album art, created through the combined efforts of Audrey, myself, and Kitten!!

You may remember that Kitten originally drew that awesome logo that is at the top of this site, and is also included in the new podcast art above. She also helped me out by fixing up that cool new word-logo in the lower right of the art (check out the details! My costume “elvensaber”, green vines and leaves, and Ahsoka-style padawan beads!) And that lovely “Erebor to Echo Base” part you’ll recognize as the original art by Audrey, though showcased in a much better fashion than previously!!

You’ll probably be seeing this art some other places, as well, and in other styles, but I’m not totally sure about that aspect yet, so we’ll just have to wait and see where it goes. 😉

And finally, my biggest announcement, and one I’ve been very excitedly waiting to tell you all!!

First, an explanation: as some of you may know, I started high school this year, and I spent the good part of last semester just trying to stay caught up and get used to the new way of things. I had to step back a bit from The Elven Padawan for a while, especially the blogging aspect. In fact, my recent blog post on Kanan’s choices in the mid-season finale of Star Wars: Rebels was the first I’d done in a while. On top of all that, I’ve also recently joined the team over at The Future of the Force, and though I’ve only had one article with them so far, I’m hoping to really get on top of that soon and continue my series on the symbolism in Rebels. And I’ve really been trying to keep things rolling with the podcast, too.

Anyway, all of this has been piling up on me lately, and I thought it was time to bring in some help. Besides, part of the whole point in TEP was to feature fellow fans of my age group, and I’ve not been able to do that a whole lot with the blog. And that brings me to my biggest announcement:

Introducing The Elven Padawan’s newest blogger, my good friend and fellow Star Wars and Middle-earth geek, Audrey!

Many of you have already seen some of Audrey’s writing from our weekly reviews of the fourth and final season of Star Wars Rebels, as well as the guest post she did for me a while back (and we’ve already talked about her artwork for TEP!), but I figured it was time to go ahead and make her a full-on writer for this blog. You’ll be seeing articles from her regularly, and in preparation, I did a quick little interview with her to help you all get to know her better.

---

1. What first made you into a fangirl?

Audrey: I think Star Wars is the first thing that really turned me into a fangirl. Yes, I had movies I liked before seeing Star Wars, but I didn’t have a “favorite”. When I first heard that my brothers were watching it, I declined, thinking that it was a boy’s movie and would be boring. I was wrong. Really really wrong. I popped into the room while they were in the middle of A New Hope and decided that the story was pretty interesting after all. I tried to hide how much I liked it for a few weeks, but gave up quickly. And I’ve never looked back from there. That was a little more than two years ago, but I didn’t understand what a fangirl was until about a year ago while talking with some friends online. But once I did, I knew I definitely was one.

2. When did you first get into Star Wars? Same for Tolkien?

Audrey: Without my brothers, I don’t know how long it would have been until I wanted to watch Star Wars. I think the first thing that captivated me so much about it was how different it was from any movie I’d ever seen. Star Wars was really only the third or fourth live action movie I had watched, and because of that it immediately felt more real. I loved the characters from the start, especially Leia because she was finally a princess who got to fight. I don’t like admitting this, but I was also curious as to how she was going to marry the guy she’d been yelling at since she’d met him (my mom spoiled some things for us). As the story went on though, I started caring less about that and more about the story as a whole.

As for how I got into Lord of the Rings, you (Shay), and one of my other friends were the first people to talk to me about them. I thought they sounded interesting, so I asked my parents if we had the movies. Yes, I watched the movies first.  I know sometimes people don’t like that, but I feel like it made reading the books easier because I could already picture the characters. I liked them right away since they had all the things that make my favorite movies my favorite. Good against evil, strong lessons, adventure and some fighting, with just a bit of romance. I’m not sure I completely count as a fangirl for them, since my knowledge of Middle-earth is very slim, but I’m working on changing that.

3. What characters are your favorites in each series (Star Wars and Lord of the Rings)? Can you give a few reasons why you love them?

Audrey: For Star Wars, Leia, because she goes through so much and is still fighting. Her defiance of evil and courage are inspiring. She was part of what changed my mind about Star Wars.
Second is Han, and I’m not entirely sure why he’s my second favorite. I like how he changes through the story from a selfish smuggler, to someone who takes risks for others and plays a huge part in defeating the Empire. Some of his lines are the ones that have made me laugh the most.
Rey is third, because she’s strong, but soft at the same time, and you don’t see that often. As much as I like Leia, she can be pretty harsh. Rey, even after spending most of her life surrounded by tough, heartless people and aliens as she struggles to survive, doesn’t give up on being kind or on hoping for something better. I think it’s cool that she’s a main girl who will be training in the Force. Her name being half of mine has nothing to do with why I like her. 😉
This list could go on forever though, so I decided on top three.
For Lord of the Rings, my favorite character is Sam. Sam is the best. He’s loyal, brave, enduring, and generous. He doesn’t let anything stop him from continuing on with Frodo, no matter how dark or difficult things get.
Éowyn is really tied with Sam for first. Like Leia and Rey, I like her because she’s a strong girl character and gets to play an important part. It fascinates me how she’s able to balance her duties and her desires so well.
Aragorn is my third favorite because he patiently waits for the time when he would be crowned king, unlike most people who would probably try to take the kingdom that should be theirs and would hate the people related to the current king of it. When everything is going wrong, he doesn’t get discouraged or worry, he just makes up a new crazy plan.

4. Top favorite OTP, and a brief reason why you love them.

Audrey:  Kanera (Kanan Jarrus and Hera Syndulla), is my favorite ship, because they don’t have a super dramatic or overly done relationship. They respect and believe in each other, while still teasing each other sometimes.

5. Which would you be: Rebel, Imp, Jedi, Sith, Resistance-woman, or First Order?

Audrey: As cool as it would be to be a Jedi, I don’t have that kind of discipline and don’t think I’d enjoy it very long. So I think I would like the most to be part of the Rebel Alliance, working as either a Fulcrum agent or as a strategist, like planning out the best options for battles and missions. I’d still want to be human.

6. Which would you be: Hobbit, Elf, Dwarf, race of Man, or another (like a Vala, Istari/wizard, Ent, skin-changer, etc.)?

Audrey: Definitely a Hobbit. They live nearly exactly how I would want to, in cozy houses, with lots of books (Bilbo at least had lots of books), growing food in their backyards, and living in a cheery place with grass and trees. And my mom wouldn’t have to keep telling me to put shoes on because no one would wear shoes!

7. Anything else interesting you’d like to say in connection to all this?

Audrey: Sometimes I worry that when I get older I’ll stop being a fangirl. (I doubt that, but it could happen.) But I know that even if I stop counting down the minutes until the next movie or book comes out, or don’t enjoy having long discussions about them, I know that the stories and the lessons will stay with me forever.

---

This article was written by Shay S., Creator, Chief Editor, and Podcast Host for The Elven Padawan, and first appeared on ElvenPadawan.com

---

You can catch Audrey’s first blog article with The Elven Padawan next week, when she’ll be giving her insights into what to do while Star Wars Rebels is on break.

And that wraps it up for the announcements this time! I hope you all are looking forward to the things I’ll be doing with The Elven Padawan in the near future as much as I am!

What do you think of the new podcast art? Are you excited to see more coming from Middle-earth? Do you have any suggestions for things you’d like to see added to The Elven Padawan? Please let me know in the comments below!!