Because some folks were having trouble with the mouseover on the ballot, here’s a list of all the panel suggestions received, which should match up pretty well with the order on the ballot.
General Panels
| Acknowledgement Forum | In fannish disclaimers, it’s become customary to acknowledge the creators of our source material. But how often to we take the time to thank the fans who’ve inspired us? These may be our closest friends, or people we’ve never met. Come and share some of your inspirations. Hey, you might have inspired someone without even knowing it. |
| Airship Pirates and Copper Pipes | Welcome to steampunks anonymous! Whether you’re writing, vidding, making art or crafts, or cosplaying in steampunk canon settings or AUs, come share your creativity and enthusiasm for the steampunk future of an alternate past. Bonus points if you bring along music recs or any kind of functional steam engine.  |
| Are TPTB messing with us? | Last year there was NCIS:Gay, er LA. This year there is Hawaii 5-0. Totally married hot male buddy leads. Is this dynamic deliberate on the show runner’s part? They can’t be naive enough to not know what they’re doing, can they? Or are they simply hearkening back to the ‘buddy shows’ of 20 or 40 years ago? |
| Delicious – Rumors of Death Greatly Exaggerated? | Delicious, fandom’s favorite bookmarking site may be getting shut down (or at least sold out) by The Man. What to do? |
| Fan Art Meta | A chance to discuss the burning questions in the fan art world: what is art and what’s not? how is art different from fic? where can I find the good stuff? Suitable for fanart creators, collectors, and critics alike! |
| Fandoms with no Fanon | One of the challenges of Yuletide is working without the ‘safety net’ of fanon… no leatherpants Draco, no abused-childhood Neal, no Robin the Boytoy Wonder. Authors can’t draw on those tropes, and requestors can’t say ‘I like/don’t like ….’ How do you write gift fic for a stranger without fanon? Can a fandom grow large without developing fanon? How does lack of fanon affect how you write or read fic? |
| Fanlore: are BNFs writing our history? | Fanlore has an official policy of ‘plural points of view’, but is that really happening? Have you ever looked up a kerfluffle you were involved in, and seen how your side of the battle was portrayed? (And on the other side, are we afraid of conflict, to the point that Fanlore is bland and safe?) |
| Fannish Bullying | When we turn on each other, things can get ugly. Is bullying ever justified? What about plagiarism? Promoting a non-standard pairing? What if we only bully those who bullied someone else first? |
| Flattering or creepy? | Are slash writers flattered or creeped out by increased canon references, academic notice and public reviews? Is the attention encouraging or does it push slash under f-lock? |
| I love a man in uniform | So what is the appeal of strictly regimented, hierarchical, uniformed services such as: police, fire, and armed forces? Is it their traditional maleness? Is it the danger and adventure? Is it the rigidly enforced codes? (All those rules, waiting to be broken ….) What are the challenges of getting the culture, the traditions, and the language right? And what does the repeal of DADT really mean? |
| Is the medium the mistress? | There are single movie fandoms, movie series fandoms, tv series fandoms, book series fandoms…do all of these demand different strategies from us, as readers and writers? If you’ve ever wished for more canon–or for less–or been in a fandom that had both book and film versions, come and share your ideas and experiences. |
| It’s the End of The World as We Know It | Zombies, comets, plague and pestilence – reading or writing, what’s the appeal? Let’s look at the qualities adverse circumstance can bring out in characters and pairings, and whether certain fandoms are better suited to such blight than others. |
| My Pussy is not ideologically driven | In the past 18 months there’s been a backlash against slash as being anti-feminist and a ‘symptom’ of internalized misogyny — we’re ‘erasing’ the women characters after all, shame on us! Let’s explore the ways in which slash and slash fandom is awesome, ennobling, and frankly, why there’s no shame in writing or reading what makes you happy in your panties/tighty whites. |
| Old Enough or Too Old?: How Age Difference Affects Pairing Potential | Do you like one half of your pairing ‘well preserved,’ and the other still with a touch of green? Or maybe that’s the squickiest thing you can imagine – especially if one has a duty of care over the other. Which pairings are better because of the age difference, and which are harder to justify? Come and explore topics related to age and age difference in fanfiction. |
| OMG, we’re getting older! | Escapade is now 21 years old, which means that we, as fans, are also … older. Is there any such thing as ‘too old to be a fan’? How are we planning for what happens to our fannish ‘stuff’? |
| Orphan Fandoms Unite! | If your fandom doesn’t have a panel of its own, sign up here to promote your cause! |
| OTW/A03 Wish list conversation | Do you feel like you don’t know how to get your A03 or OTW wishlist through the bureaucracy? A03 is getting better all the time, but there’s still a long way to go. Let’s brainstorm and turn a list over at the end of the panel. |
| Proslash | It’s been a year since we last gathered to talk about the rise of m/m books. A few weeks ago Library Journal had an article about it as a new genre with buying suggestions to start a collection. Does your library have any? Does you local bookstore? Let’s about books. What’s new? Where are you buying? Who are you buying? |
| Put on a Happy Face | Since the murder of his wife and daughter, Patrick Jane has gone on living in the hope of getting revenge on Red John, the serial killer who seems as obsessed with Jane as Jane is with him. Red John toys with Jane, using the skills of a mentalist. Are Jane and John, in some sense, different sides of the same person? What will happen when they meet, and who will prevail? |
| RPF, Gossip, History and Morality | 19th century Shakespeare/Elizabeth RPF was written to ally anxieties about Shakespeare’s sexuality (Helen Hacket in “Shakespeare and Elizabeth: The Meeting of Two Myths,” p. 139). 20th century gossip and reality TV shows provided ethical dramas that had people thinking about values through the actions of others (Henry Jenkins in “Convergence Culture,” p. 84). Does modern RPF provide a platform to discuss what’s acceptable, what’s not and what should be? |
| Snake Plissken was a big ol’ wuss | In a caring/sharing world, where have all the tough guys gone? Where does the modern fan find her REALLY rough and tumble characters? What’s the appeal of emotional unavailability and, more importantly, how do you write it? |
| Superheros & Supervillains: Supes & Spidey & Bats, Oh My! | Are stories about the Man of Steel your comfort food? Is Gotham angst or Smallville coming-of-age your home turf? Do you find yourself imagining new and innovative uses for giant webs? Come share your classic superhero and supervillain squee! Whether comics canon, television canon, or various movie incarnations, what keeps us coming back for more Supes and Spidey and Bats… and their arch-enemies? (Hi, Lex.) |
| Tacking kink onto characters | We loooove our kink, but when and how can we justify it? Do the characters really show any signs of dominant/submissive behaviour (or whatever other kink floats your boat) – or is it just wish fulfillment on our parts? And can we get away with that, fun though it is? |
| The Best Crossover Story Idea Ever (That Someone Else Should Write for Me) | The name says it all. Bring your favorite crossover ideas to this fun brainstorming session, get as general or detailed as you want, and be prepared to share them with a room full of like-minded potential plot-bunny victims. |
| The Importance of Local Flavor | Ever thought about how well and how real the integration of the story setting affects your enjoyment? For example, would SPNl be as fun if the two hot guys drove a Volkswagen bus? How about Neal and his retro-hip Rat Pack suits – would it work in LA instead of NYC? Bring examples of shows, movies, and books where settings work and where they don’t so we can discuss this often overlooked facet of fandom. |
| The Reccing Crew | The act of recommending a fanwork is deeply woven into fannish culture. Are there some social mores at work when we make public recs? Have these changed over the years, as recs have moved from websites and mailing lists to Livejournal and Delicious? Delicious was conceived as a bookmarking site, but often operates for users as a recs and comments site. If it goes away, what would you like to replace it? |
| They Put What on That Kink-Meme Bingo Card? | Kink memes are hot! What new things have you discovered? What did you like, what didn’t you like, and what would you like to see more (or less) of in the future? Come and discuss your new-found love of toe-bondage, your confusion over ponyplay, or those things you couldn’t even find explained on UrbanDictionary. |
| To pseud or not to pseud | Historically, pseudonyms have enabled writers like Louisa May Alcott to sell material that sexist editors refused or that she felt would be harshly judged by family/friends. Why do we continue to use pseudonyms within fandom? Isn’t this the 21st century? Is fandom in real danger of unenlightened Muggles/Mundanes (often family & friends) censoring/blocking what we write, draw or even just read? And if they’re intolerant of genfic, what is the future of chan or yaoi? |
| You Can’t Put That There, Can You?: Homophobia in Slash | It might be fair to say that slash fandom often sees ourselves as a mostly liberal or progressive leaning community. IDIC, right? But what role does homophobia play in slash texts. Do some stories that focus on ‘we’re not gay we just love each other’ plotlines cross the line and become homophobic? Is slash fandom a community that appropriates gay culture? Where exactly do we draw the line between appreciating and more problematic relationships? |
Fandom-specific Panels
| American Idol RPS: This Is Your General Adam Lambert Squee Panel | For all an Adam Lambert enthusiast’s needs, a panel discussing his music, his style, his genderplay and sexuality performance, his many potential slash pairings, and any other thing you can think of to love about him. Come squee! |
| Being Human: Battle of the Being Humans | Now there is a North American version of the BBC’s Being Human. Which series is better? Which series is slashier? |
| Castle: Something for (Almost) Everyone | Castle is a mystery wrapped in a comedy wrapped in a procedural, dipped in a warm and light-hearted murder sauce. Come and discuss the TV show and the tie-in novels, or find out why Castle is so charmingly gruesome. |
| Dr Who: ‘Dr/Amy/Rory — most uncomfortable threesome ever? | Eleven is a huge change from 10. Amy is pretty damn adorable. And yet again, we have a beta guy as the second companion. Is Rory getting a fair shake? Is 11 the rare Dr you can imagine having sex? Does it help/hurt that Rory and Amy are married? |
| Fringe: The Other You | Is Peter the only one without a doppelganger on the other side? How threatening is it to know there’s another who looks just like you but has made different life choices? How threatening when that person slips, apparently seamlessly, into your life? There’s so much to talk about, but this is a start… |
| Generation Kill: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot | Let’s talk about the fantastic HBO miniseries Generation Kill, the Marines of 1st Recon, the weirdness of writing fictional versions of real people, and how Brad/Nate is the gift that keeps on giving. |
| Glee: 25% slash, 25% femslash, 25% canon…100% gay! | From slash pairings like Kurt/Puck and Finn/Sam, femslash pairings like Rachel/Quinn and Mercedes/Quinn, and canon pairings such as Kurt/Blaine, Santana/Britney and even slash/canon hybrids like Kurt/Finn, Glee has more than enough pairings to go around. Discuss your favorite ships, the music and dancing and the show itself here. |
| Glee: Get Your Glee On | Creative and unexpected, or uneven and inconsistent? Are the characters mistreated just to create temporary plotlines? Is the variety of music interesting or just plain weird? Are the adults frighteningly dysfunctional or endearingly human? What IS it about this show? |
| Hawaii 5-0: 2010 Fandom Primer | Come join the excitement of one of the slashiest shows on TV right now! Find out where to find the fic and who’s vidding, plus everything else! |
| Hawaii Five-0 (2010): Wedded bliss. With guns. And snark. | Is the show’s Steve/Danny dynamic a full circle return to the unironic male partnerships of yore (e.g. Starsky and Hutch)? How much are the creators and actors doing a ‘nudge nudge, wink wink’ with the ‘they’re so married’ vibe? Let’s talk about what makes this show so gay, and how it compares to other buddy pairings that get slashed. |
| Hawaii Five-0: Hawaii Five…OH! | Hawaii Five-0 has turned out to be a hit for critics and fans, despite the less-than-reassuring presence of Alex O’Loughlin, who has killed two other series by headlining them. What about the Steve/Danny buddy cop dynamic makes H50 better than the sum of its parts? How is it different than other buddy cop shows? |
| Inception: Arthur/Eames and So Much More | Inception spawned a large fic-writing fandom immediately, and Arthur/Eames is clearly the dominant pairing. But an ensemble cast provides opportunities for so many pairings, or threesomes, or moresomes! Bring your evidence for your favorite ship/OT3/OT4/etc., and we can all compare notes. |
| Inception: The dreamer and the dreamed | Why did this movie spawn such an active fandom? How closely does fanfiction adhere to the film’s characterization (such as it is)? Does it matter? Bring your opinions, theories and recs for favorite Inception fanworks and let’s discuss. |
| Justified: It’s about the hat. And the gun. But mostly the hat. | Timothy Olyphant: he looks good in hats. Justified is a smart, complex show with great relationships, and it’s coming back on February 9. Come to talk about the first season and the beginning of the new season, or come and be pimped into the show. |
| LOLCats: Evil Geniuses or Just Misunderstood | Are cats really plotting the end of the world or does it just seem like they’re out to kill us. Do they really want to be waited on hand and paw or is it just a plot to lure us within killing range? |
| Lost Girl: Sex in Lost Girl: Titillation or Progressive Portrayal of Sexuality? | ‘Lost Girl’ seems designed to meet more unusual pairing choices of fans: two main characters are in an F/M relationship, but with a succubus heroine, the show deals heavily in sexuality and set-ups that go beyond traditional portrayals of sexual relationships. Are these storylines indicative of more relaxed and open-minded 21st Century thinking, or are they mere titillation for a niche audience? |
| Lost Girl: The Good, the Bad, and the Sexy | Intellectual, it’s not, but it’s a hell of a lot of fun. Then again, there’s more going on under the surface. Let’s talk season one, and where the best little succubisexual show on TV goes from here. |
| Merlin: RPS Canon vs. Show Canon Slash Deathmatch | Okay, showdown! Which has better and more slashily compelling canon, Merlin/Arthur or Bradley/Colin? Both continue to maintain relatively active fandoms. Do you follow and read fic or watch vids for both? One or the other? Come discuss your favorite slashy evidence for either pairing! |
| Professionals: We love our fanfic!!! | Our fandom has lots of fic, CI5 verse and equal amounts of AU. What works? What do you like? What doesn’t work? Let’s talk fic. |
| Professionals: Why do AUs Abound In Pros Fic | {{I would like to post links to 3 fics prior to Con so folk could read and we’ll discuss the fic}} Do AUs work? Why do some and not others? Let’s compare and contrast 3 fic. |
| Prosfessionals: AU fic discussion | 3 fic to be decided on and posted ahead of time and have folks prepared to discuss. BOLO – how far from canon can we accept our lads and what qualities do the lads have that make them so used in AUs. |
| Psych: IDK, My BFF Gus? | Come and discuss Shawn and Gus and the ensemble cast, five seasons of Psych, its sublime silliness, pop culture references, and ‘Gus, don’t be the only black lead on a major cable network.’ |
| Sherlock (2010): John Watson: Smarter Than You | Watson is often portrayed in various adaptations as bumbling, to the point of ridiculousness. One of the things that makes the 2010 adaptation of Sherlock so great is that Watson is smart, competent, and even deadly. Let’s talk about the modern-day Watson and why he’s so fabulous. |
| Sherlock BBC: The New Sherlock: The appeal, the fandom, the work | This new series, created by fanboys and set in the 21st century, has attracted a large audience and inspired vigorous debates on its canon as well as a flood of fic, art, and vids. Asexuality, incest, and many flavors of psychological disorder and kink are high-profile. What’s different and appealing about this incarnation and its characters? What new fanon has emerged? What trends in writing? And what are some outstanding works? |
| Sherlock Holmes: The Many Lives of Sherlock Holmes | Interpretations of Sherlock Holmes throughout the ages and how they compare to canon, including the BBC show Sherlock and the 2009 Sherlock Holmes theatrical release. |
| Sherlock: Victorian Sherlock in 2010 | Sherlock was written for the Victorian era. Yet the latest BBC version of Sherlock works in 2010. Why do you think that works? |
| Southland: The Best TV Show You’re Not Watching | The cinematography, writing, and acting are all top notch. The critics love it, and some are calling it the successor to Homicide and The Wire. So why isn’t anyone watching? Let us tell you about the awesomeness of Detective Lydia Adams and her shotgun of justice, newbie Officer Ben Sherman, and the hottest guy on the show, Officer John Cooper. |
| Spartacus: Blood and Sand: Spartacus: Exposing Your Ludus | It’s the kinkiest, crackiest show on TV, it panders to the female (and gay male) gaze, it’s got sex, drugs, and violence galore. (But it’s also got tons of heavy meta, for those what like to think.) Come, let us squee over the loin cloths, the heaving bosoms, the naked oily wrestling, the double crosses and the fact that when TPTB said, ‘Kill them all’ they really weren’t kidding. |
| Star Wars: Blue Ghosties Still Haunting Our Fic? | Star Wars has often been described as a dead fandom, but are the Jedi really still alive and kicking ass? Come chat about the signs of life in the various manifestations of SW, your favorite Jedi past and present and where SW is going. |
| Stargate – The End? | We were charmed by the original movie concept, many of us were fannishly enslaved by the first television series, others were entranced by Atlantis and some of us even tuned in for Universe. Are we ready to let the Stargate concept go or are we sitting on the edges of our seats, anxiously awaiting the next incarnation? |
| Supernatural : The Apocalypse is over but all hell’s broken loose! | Is Season Six really a Season Sux? Let’s get together and laugh and bitch about the good, the bad, and the ugly of the final season of Supernatural. |
| Supernatural: Castiel – the angel of slashy goodness | The staring, the ‘special bond’, his amazing ‘social skills’ and his ability to use the English language in new and creative ways. This panel can be about any and all things Castiel related. |
| Supernatural: Someone’s Getting Rapey with Dean Again | In canon, Dean Winchester’s victimization by angels, demons and monsters is characterized by sexual metaphors. In fic, it’s more literal. What kinds of character explorations or other ideas do these types of stories offer viewers, writers and readers? |
| Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles:The Bechdel Test’s Dream Show | Kickass warriors, killer robots, master manipulators, time travelers. This short-lived show had fabulous female characters, great storylines, and emotional intensity. And hey, you want slash? This show had more potential femslash pairings than most shows have characters. Come discuss the many fanfic possibilities we were left with, or just to be pimped into a truly great show. |
| Terriers: Not Pretty Enough? | Good writing and acting, complex plots and an intense buddy relationship – any other show would be slashed! But these guys are, well…scruffy. Are we really that shallow? Why else did this brilliant show fail to attract a fannish following? |
| The Fast & The Furious: Get your motor running | Just when you thought the series couldn’t get any slashier, they released the trailer for Fast Five. Roman and Han and Vince, oh my! Should the title of this movie really be The OT5? Let’s talk about the potential group dynamics given the presence of the three exes … and Mia and Giselle. Oh, and some hot buttered car porn, too. |
| Three 20-min recruiter panels — Lost Girl, Justify, Fringe | I would love to see short recruiter panels return One pimper per panel, with recs and pics and comm recommendations? |
| Vampire Diaries: Team Badass and Girl Power: Mystic Falls | Vampire Diaries is no Twilight or True Blood. It’s quite possibly the slashiest show on TV (who doesn’t Damon Salvatore have chemistry with?) and yet, it’s full of three-dimensional female characters who have their own agendas and are nobody’s fools. Let’s also talk doppelgangers, werewolves, history teachers with a penchant for weapons, the first ones, and ‘the year of the Kat’. |
| White Collar: “No more secrets” | Peter and Neal both promised each other that and it lasted one whole episode? Trust issues are a pervasive theme in this fandom. What will it take for Peter and Neal to trust each other? Or is that even possible? |
Tech/Workshop Panels
| And Now For Something Completely Different: Crafts and Hobbies | Many of us knit and some of us sew, but what else? Maybe you make dolls, or brew beer? SCA or RenFaire, anyone? Or maybe you prefer model trains? Come take a break from the serious meta for a bit and enjoy some lighthearted craft and hobby pimp-age. Pictures and samples strongly encouraged! |
| Archiving Fannish History | What’s involved in making a fannish archive? How much can be digitized, and how does that happen? What copyright issues are involved? Come talk about university collections, PDF conversion, metadata tagging, permissions, selection choices, anonymity, and other issues involved in creating a usable archive. |
| ebook hardware: Show and tell, upcoming toys | Kindles, nooks, Sony Readers, iOS things, Android tablets, etc. What do we have, what are we looking at getting? Whether you’re thinking about getting started or you’ve been reading for years, join us to talk about tech toys. |
| ebook software | Primarily an introduction to Calibre, but let’s talk about some other software that we might be using. We can talk about exporting from archives, choosing file types, that kind of thing. What helps you get the most out of your ereading device? |
Alternate Programming/Video
| All the stuff you like: Pimping | Also referred to as Pimping Free for All or Free Range Pimping, this is your chance to rave about the wonders of anything. Did you find a great brand of shoes? A new author? The most comfortable set of sheets ever? Heck, we’ll even talk about tv and movies. Come talk about anything you love. |
| Skintillating | Outside/External footage in slash vids – how much skin is too much? |
| The Bra is Your Friend | With the massive success and happiness of last year’s field trip to Aphrodite’s Lingerie for proper education and bra fitting, we need to schedule this again! |
[...] some panelists) be on the Escapade final schedule. You may notice that some have changed from their original description here. To try and spice things up (and get more panels on the schedule) we have combined several that we [...]