Pimping the Escapade Experience

[escapade_team]

To help fans who have never been to Escapade understand what they’re missing, we’re filming a panel this year! The obvious choice was “Mainstreaming Slash.” Moderated by Aral and Charlotte, filmed by NakedBee, Jo, and Franzi, the panel will discuss whether going mainstream and achieving “respectability” changes who, what, and how we slash? Have tropes, memes, bingoes, etc. become a veil, behind which we can hide our more kinky bits from the Creators who now wander around in our fandoms? How does what we do influence the canon? Some creators run from it, “straightening up” their leads. Some cater to us, providing loving looks and overlong hugs. Can we encourage what we want, and discourage what we don’t? Do we want slash in our canon? We expect that it will be the sort of exhilarating, rapid-fire discussion that is characteristic of great Escapade panels, and want to share it with other fans.

This panel is scheduled on Saturday morning, at 10:00 a.m., in California B. To avoid the use of your image to promote Escapade, simply avoid California B from 9:55 – 11:00 a.m. on Saturday morning. Our promise to you—and we Don’t Break Such Promises—is that the “filming” sign will be on the door the entire hour a camera is filming, so you’ll know not to enter, and that when we stop filming and cover the lenses, the “filming” sign will be removed and the room cleaned up for its next scheduled panel.

We spent a lot of time this past year, watching The Talking Dead and hearing people both trash and cash in on Fifty Shades of Grey. We developed a new commitment: to define ourselves before others do it for us, and to make it known that: Escapade is a con run By Fans, For Fans, About Fans and Fandom.

We want other fans to know we’re here, and join us, and help us stay viable and energetic and strong. We’re asking for your trust because we have earned it.

For logistical purposes, everyone will sign the image waiver at registration, the same time they sign the food waiver, so we don’t lose 10 minutes of the panel to additional paper pushing. The way you agree to be filmed is by entering California B between 9:50 and 10:10 a.m. on Saturday.

We plan to use snippets of the panel to show potential attendees what an Escapade panel is, and why fans might want to join one. We hope we’ll have a fun, “teaser” trailer and panel soundbites, as well as a long form section, a “this is what a panel is like” version that shows the positivity, the excitement, the communication, the equality of the group—and of course, the spirit of experimentation!

Megan & Charlotte

Alternate Programming

[escapade_team]

Hi Escapade Members!

A few new tidbits of information on alternate programming:

1. Alternate programming has been added to the online schedule. List below. There are still a few spots “available” on the schedule. They’re up for grabs!


2. Orphan Panel: We need some stuff… (aka the lube panel) We are very sad that the original mod is not able to attend. She’s willing to share her notes if someone will adopt this panel. Time: Sunday 11 AM (after the art auction)

Friday

11 AM: Vikings: Faith, Assimilation, and Slash

Athelstan’s story has become a surprisingly complex and compelling one: a story of conflicted faith, cultural assimilation, and some incredibly intense slashy (and OT3) content.  Mod: Christy

Noon: Loki: You Don’t Have to be Good Friends For The Sex To Be Great
Who is your favorite pairing when it comes to the God of Mischief? Fanfic writers have paired him with every one of the Avengers, as well as Darcy Lewis, Jane Foster, and even Dr. Doom, and then scoured Norse mythology to find even more pairings. Let’s discuss what your favorite kink is when it comes to the God of Tricks. Is he a Jotun war prize, a haughty Asgardian Prince with designs on his brother or Sleipnir’s mum? Mods: Catalena Mara, Tenaya

2 PM: Star Wars Fzzzt Whooooom!
Star Wars is Coming! Episode VII is this December – share the buzz, what have you heard, what are your favorite things about the Star Wars universe, what do you want to see or not see. Why do we love Star Wars and where do we think it will go after the new movie? Mod: Katbear

Saturday
9 AM: Games with the Professionals
Professionals Against Humanity and Pros Bingo Mod: Kris -KrisserCI5

11 AM: Captain America
Let’s talk about the biggest fandom of 2014 and the riches it gave us–the epic and tragic nearly century-long love affair of Steve and Bucky, the introduction of Sam into Steve’s life, Steve’s developing relationship with Natasha, or anything else we love about Cap2 (and Cap1, of course!). Mod: gwyneth

6 PM: Fans & Trauma

Discussion group for fans dealing with trauma in their life (RL, not characters who we love to traumatize). Just show up and share. Or listen. Mod: fashes ilia

Sunday
Noon: When Good Men Love Anti-Heroes
What is it about good guys and the bad boys that they love? I see on AO3 a resurgence in the classic first-time story how, after Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Bucky finds Steve again. Do they live in an apartment? Do they go on the road? How does Steve help Bucky with his PTSD? What are your favorite reads for this trope, and what ideas do you have as to how this would come about. Mod: Lovesrain44

Description of the lube panel:

Sunday 11 AM (proposed time): ‘We need some… stuff…’
Stuff! We know what they are talking about: lube! But do we know what we are talking about? Do we want to know more?     Come along and get your hands… er… wet, as we investigate the different alternatives available and what our protagonists might think of them (if they were even available for them). Complete with what happens when you mix and match, and dubious speculation on historical alternatives. Anecdotal personal experience greatly encouraged. Samples welcomed. Tissues provided.