#more ot3 fodder?? yes

[fulcrum-art-fox]

“He believes he loves you very much” wtf is this wording Mizu why did you have to phrase it like this what are you hoping to achieve with this. are you reassuring her or giving her questions like oh my god Mizu. he believes he loves you. wtf. you wanna tell me why you chose to phrase this sentence this way. And then the way Akemi just like. glares at her harder for this is hilarious. Like it seriously sounds like oh yeah he believes he loves only you but I’ve introduced myself to the situationship and nothing will ever be the same. He believes he loves you. Good lord Mizu you glorious bastard

[veliseraptor]

Top 10 Xue Yang ships?

oh man. do I really have ten? when I say I’ll read anything I don’t know that that means I actually ship everything. I went through this and would say I ended up with seven and a half actual ships and four other “on the verge of” ships.

1. Xue Yang/Xiao Xingchen. I mean, this was the original one that came out of left field and hit me like an eighteen wheeler and I’m still dying about it! Like, ships that were Designed Specifically With Me In Mind for 500, it’s this one, I’m still...I’d be mad about it if I weren’t so happy about it. It’s terrible, it’s beautiful, there’s so much...going on there, so much to dig into, this terrible balance of tenderness and care and terrible horrible no good very bad and it’s just all. Mmm. Delicious. 

The misery of it all! The enemies-to-lovers of it all! I suffer. I love it.

2. Song Lan/Xue Yang/Xiao Xingchen. This one came along slightly later but I am truly in love with it also?? Like, it just makes me very happy. And I’m so deeply invested in Yi City fix its and mine tend to end up very Xiao Xingchen Has Two Hands and Can Have Two Boyfriends If He Wants and the fact that both his boyfriends would...kind of do anything for him, particularly at that point in canon, if things panned out right...I mean, I’m writing a whole fic off that premise that’s currently inching up on 70k. There’s just...such a good blend of dynamics here. Possibly my most OT3 I’ve ever OT3′d. 

3. Xue Yang/Song Lan. I love, as I said recently, hatesex and proxyfucking, and Xue Yang/Song Lan has prime possibilities for both. And also potential for them to develop feelings and be really mad about it, which is also a thing that I love. 

4. Wei Wuxian/Xue Yang. Xue Yang deserves to get dicked down by his necromancy idol and Wei Wuxian deserves to get to fuck someone up a little and I just think they could have a good time together, even if it was only for a one-night-stand that Wei Wuxian really regrets in the morning and Xue Yang is going to use for masturbation fodder for the rest of his goddamn life.

5. Jin Guangyao/Xue Yang. Power plays! Fucking around with dominance and control! A unique personal understanding of each other in a way pretty much no one else has! Xue Yang’s casual disregard for Jin Guangyao’s boundaries such that Jin Guangyao can set aside his need to always have control of every situation ever! Jin Guangyao’s ability and willingness to fuck Xue Yang up but not in an overtly violent way which is actually generally even better! Stepping all over each other’s “is this a kink of a trigger?” “yes” areas! There’s so much to love about it and it is so much fun to write. I just love their dynamic so much. Honestly after Xuexiao and Songxuexiao this is probably my top Xue Yang pairing.

6. Jiang Yanli/Xue Yang. I mean obviously this is primarily because of The Fic but also...as with the below I have I think kind of a weakness for Xue Yang gravitating toward Nice people and just kind of. Deciding they’re his actually, and also a weakness for Jiang Yanli going just a little bit feral, and those two things combined...idk I have only really read the one fic but I would read more of it, and I’d write one myself except I feel like that fic kind of did what I’d want to do, but better than I could. 

7. Qin Su/Xue Yang. This is mostly @ectoplasm-james‘s fault because of one specific post but I stand by it for some of the same reasons as above, and they were in Jinlintai at the same time while he was working for Jin Guangyao so it could happen! And it would be a lot of fun for them to have some kind of thing, but you know what could make it even more fun is

7a. Qin Su/Jin Guangyao/Xue Yang. I have no idea what it would look like but purely in concept I think I’d be into it. It’d be messy as hell. Xue Yang would be so hyped. I think the person here who is least sure about this is probably, honestly, Jin Guangyao.

Would it ever happen? Probably not! But you didn’t ask me about plausibility.

A thing I have considered but would ship under very specific circumstances I haven’t seen written yet: Xue Yang/Mo Xuanyu, Xue Yang/Su She.

A thing I have read and enjoyed but wouldn’t say I quite ship, though I’m probably close: Lan Wangji/Xue Yang.

A thing I am waffling around considering but will have to see how the fic I’m writing of it goes: Wen Qing/Xue Yang.

[olderthannetfic]

Probably second most popular in the history of Escapade slash con is that staple of 90s slash fandom, Highlander: The Series.

Highlander was, in many ways, the perfect fandom: tons of fodder for a couple of big ships that kept it active but also lots of other characters and worldbuilding to explore when you wanted variety.

It shot half the year in Vancouver and half in Paris where gorgeous historical monuments added a shitton of production value you won’t find in most genre shows of the era. The combat was also a cut above: most of these actors know what they’re doing with a sword, and it really shows.

The soundtrack is by Queen, guys, oh my god.

Seriously, if you ever think about checking out oldschool fandoms, Highlander is the one to pick!

All those hot men menacing each other with the cutlery launched a thousand slash fics. Once Methos, sometime wimpy researcher, sometime suuuuper evil world conqueror, was introduced, you could hear the sucking vacuum sound as slash fans vacated every other fandom of the day. There’s a Lord Byron episode where he takes Polidori’s role and lounges in frilly period clothing, for fuck sake! 

There are a million rarer character ships too, including one with that guy who played Krycek on the X-Files. (Shut up: he’s great!)

You wouldn’t know it from looking at AO3 today, but this was also a huge fandom for het, both with canon women and OFCs. Amanda, immortal thief and all around pain in the ass (Cf. that photo above of her pulling an arrow out of MacLeod’s butt) was a particular favorite even within slash fandom, inspiring the lulzy comment: “That’s not het: that’s Amanda”.

If you think I maybe ship the Duncan/Methos/Amanda OT3, you’d be exactly right. This was one of the earliest big OT3s I saw in fandom and one that set the classic pattern of slightly uptight cinnamon roll moral center/2 morally gray troublemakers that I’ve seen repeated a thousand times since.

(A pause for all of the Duncan fans to hotly contest the idea that he was ever uptight.)

I can think of no better introduction to the series than Killa’s awesome vid from Escapade 2015, Let the Day Begin.

On AO3 here.

I too tried my hand at vidding it a while back, though in a more... um... irreverent vein.

Another interesting thing about Highlander is that it’s one of the only (and earliest) times I can remember fandom thirsting for a visibly disabled character. Silver fox Joe Dawson is a double amputee and subject of a lot of horny fics.

The actor lost his legs in a car accident, the character in a suitably melodramatic war experience that led him to being a Watcher--yes, this is the same cheesy fun as Anne Rice or Buffy Watchers, and MacLeod becoming besties with his stalker is one of my favorite parts of the series.

The fact that Methos, world’s oldest immortal and super badass warrior, is currently hiding out as a dorky researcher for them and is also Joe’s buddy makes it even better. Joe runs a cool bookstore in Paris as his cover, as if we needed more reasons to lust after him! 

Unlike many fandoms of yore, Highlander is still going strong. Its holiday exchange, HLH Shortcuts still runs every year. It’s nothing like the juggernaut it once was, but new fanworks still regularly appear on AO3.

Highlander on Fanlore

Highlander on AO3

Highlander on FFN

[dfcfanfics]

A little rambling about the Post-S3 meta

Am I the only one who's finding it very difficult to write a straight-up simple Love Square fic pairing right now?

In canon, after the events of Miracle Queen, things are still somewhat up in the air. Adrigami seems closer than ever before and Marinette seems to be finally warming up more to Luka, but nothing has set either in stone yet. Andre's ice cream knows all; self-love is the first order of the day, and our young'uns need to get their heads focused on their own priorities before devoting themselves utterly to each other. So nothing has been ruled out yet, including all four of the Square sides.

"And aren't you writing a story RIGHT NOW featuring oodles of gooey Adrienette goodness?" one might ask me. Why, yes, I am. Two, in fact, since It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time... isn't done yet. But the complications are piling up.

Marinette's New Job

Issue number one is that Marinette just had the mother of all responsibilities dropped onto her slim shoulders. Welcome to Guardianville, Population: You. Multiple classmates and friends just had their identities exposed to Hawkmoth and Mayura. Master Fu and his guidance are out of the picture. While she has a vague idea of where the Book of Lore is, Fu's notes on it are gone, meaning that even if she could get Adrien to swipe it again, she couldn't read it. And Hawkmoth and the repaired Mayura (and isn't it awfully convenient that the fix to the Peacock was so simple that a fashion mogul could tweak it in ten minutes, but neither Nooroo nor Duusu were able to suggest what to do about it?) are certainly going to be eager to test this neophyte Guardian.

So... given all of that, should Marinette even think that she has the time or energy to have a personal life any more?

The Most Obvious Distractions

The clearest way to move forward is the obvious one: a fledgling Lukanette relationship and Adrien deciding to return Kagami's affection. Which would give each of them some much-needed practice in dating, kissing, hand-holding, working through good times and bad and all the trimmings... but they're not Square relationships.

And Adrien and Marinette could certainly use some minimal-pressure time to get to know each other better, become closer friends, talk to each other about their respective squeezes, and maybe even talk to each other about relationships that might, maybe, someday, possibly, if-lightning-strikes could happen someday? Which is a nice Adrienette setup... but it will take a lot of work to go from that to a standard Square romantic relationship.

The Kagami Paradox

Kagami Tsurugi evolved substantially during Season 3, to the point of an Adrigaminette OT3 beginning to form in many people's eyes. Is competition inevitable? Might the girls decide to "share" Adrien, attempting to both date him without either one claiming exclusivity? Could one or the other start having eyes for their "rival," turning this into a true triangle? Definitely fodder for interesting fanfics -- including one of my aforementioned ones in progress.

But Kagami's evolution from "ice queen" to "cardboard cutout rival" to "surprisingly sympathetic potential friend" has had consequences. I sat down recently, working on an Adrienette pairing, and found it really hard to justify to myself _how_ it could happen at present.

Because one of Marinette's core principles is justice. (Hence how that's what Hawkmoth attempted to twist in her when he finally made contact.) She knows that Kagami is sincere. She knows that Kagami succeeded at something that she failed at miserably -- being direct. She knows that Kagami deviated from her instincts and _did_ hesitate, giving both of them a chance to address the obvious -- Marinette's attraction to Adrien (AND Adrien's attraction to Marinette, though Marinette doesn't know that yet) -- before going in for the kiss.

So while romantic Adrigami isn't fully official yet... it's closer to it than romantic Adrienette has ever been. Even if Adrien suddenly loses the spots in his eyes and sees Marinette as he should, realizing the depths of his feelings for her, Adrien is too decent a person to simply... well... "change targets" abruptly. He knows what going hot-then-cold would do to Kagami. (He found that out the hard way in one of my stories, as well.) And Marinette is _far_ too decent to let him, if she's seen that Kagami and Adrien are good together.

Oh, she still wants him; that will likely never change. But once again... Marinette's capacity for self-sacrifice is exceptional. She would break her own arm to keep an innocent from suffering. If she believes that Kagami is whom he wants -- and she has reasons to believe that right now -- is she ready and willing to fight for him? Knowing all of the above? Knowing that he appears happy with what he has already?

Now... let's see if my babbling makes sense, or if my hamfisted insertion of a Keep Reading break works.

[bereft-of-frogs]

So we ended up on a ‘rewatching Ragnarok level tonight’. I might double up and also watch Guardians of the Galaxy in bed to fall asleep tonight, but we’ll see.

I had a Day. And also I’ve been kind of nostalgic lately, for the period of time in between seeing Ragnarok and seeing Infinity War. It’s not really about the movies or fandom - I mean part of it is, but it’s way more about the emotional and professional place I was in in that time period. I was still in the coursework phase of graduate work (which is really the part I excel at and the part that made me happy), I was in really good shape, I had a lively and varied social life. I’ve just been in kind of a rut for the last year. I even find myself missing my old apartment which is sort of ridiculous. (The apartment itself was nice, but I had a roommate who I didn’t like and my current apartment feels much more mine.) It’s just all about how do I get that back? The feeling I had then. Where did it go? Why do I feel like this now?

I do have some actual real-life ideas of the why and how, but since those are like...long term things, my solution to that tonight was...rewatching Ragnarok XD

Thus, here are some thoughts:

- I do wish they’d slowed down the pacing of the first like...15 minutes a bit but that’s mostly because I would take a whole 2 hour movie of Thor and Loki sniping at each other. But I guess that’s what fanfiction’s for. ;-)

[also, if you’re asking me ‘but what would you cut to make that part longer’ the answer is just that comic strip of the dog being like ‘No cuts! Only more!’]

- there are a couple things where I’m like ‘@self, that would have been a rad detail to include, well, too late now.’ mostly the whole ‘knocking on the door of the Sanctum and then you’re just inside’ bit. That would have been rad to include, somewhere. Namely in the chapter of ‘bound at the end of the world’ where Thor and Steve go to visit Strange. Eh. Too late, oops.

- “Father, it’s us” THAT FEELS SIGNIFICANT EMOTIONALLY (more significant even than the ‘my sons’ line, which admittedly does get the good face reaction)

- I really need to make another running playlist with more of the Ragnarok score on it, this shit is great running music

- I’m really into the focus on euphemism on Sakaar. “People come from far and wide to unwillingly participate” Like that’s part of what makes it such fun dub con fodder, it’s all about the veneer of being okay and then you peel back the layers and it’s horrifying (similar to the thing I said earlier about how the Black Order doesn’t really scare me, but the Raft does). There’s that great moment that the writing engineers where you’re going along with it, and then trip into the horror. “People come from far and wide” *nodding along* “to unwillingly participate” *trip.* Dang. It’s really great that the writing can cause that drop in your stomach when you realize the dark truth behind the glamour. Dang.

- Loki also full body flinches away right when the Grandmaster interrupts his whispering with Thor. Every time, every fucking time I think I’ve gone too far, or read too much into things about Sakaar, canon just fucking does that...

(like I guess you can interpret it as surprised flinch, but with everything else...)

- also Hela says that Odin ‘banished me, caged me’ which is a nice callback to what Odin did to both Thor and Loki, in order

- also the chest touching ‘you’re not allowed to leave’ move, please canon, chill out a bit

- I 100% think earlier in the Hulk’s career on Sakaar, Thor doing the lullaby totally would have worked. Like, the Hulk had been there too long, he’d gotten too much control over Banner. (I’ve seen posts that are like ‘lol why did Thor think that would work’ and my two cents is the only reason it didn’t was because of the brutality of the arena and how long he’d been there)

- I do really like how clever and resourceful Thor is in this movie - contacting Heimdall, palming the controller off Valkyrie. I like smart Thor. :-)

- Loki and the Valkyrie’s fight. Still hot. Still makes me ship it. Enough said.

- and the visual effect of that flashback scene...iconic

- “I don’t want to fight your sister, that’s a family issue” I love how Bruce draws the line, like ‘I’ll fight your brother, but your sister...eh...’

- I would also take a lot more Thor and Bruce sniping, they are very entertaining. And like four full movies of Loki and the Valkyrie physically fighting. Just like. A lot of that. Yes.

- “...do you want revenge?” “Um, undecided.” Gold.

- god, the elevator scene. I can’t. “I should stay here.” “You’re right, you should stay here.” “TT_TT how could you think I should stay here?” Loki, you are a disaster. This scene is also probably the most honest scene they’ve ever had, through four films, and it’s like 80% lies and obfuscation, fuck

- ‘orgies and stuff’ CANON GO HOME YOU’RE DRUNK

- also, Thor and the Valkyrie fighting in sync. Also hot. Also makes me ship it. Hence the massively underrepresented OT3. (I think there are...12 Thor/Valkyrie/Loki fics on Ao3?)

- despite having not grown up with/interacted with her younger brothers until like two days ago, Hela really has the ‘get up, you’re in my seat’ delivery down pat. And it even works. (I only have like...a 70% success rate.)

- I hadn’t ever really caught that Hela calls herself ‘the savior of Asgard’ in her fight with Thor, I feel like that also has so much EMOTIONAL SIGNIFICANCE that then Loki is given that title a few minutes later

- Valkyrie’s wtf face when she realizes the Bruce Banner/Hulk thing is great

- Thor and Loki being Delighted With Each Other will always be the best part of the final battle

- another thing that contributes to what I think this movie does very well re: Thor and Loki’s relationship is all of their real conversations are like half conversations (the elevator scene being the major exception, which is more a conversation hidden beneath another one) - Thor doesn’t need to actually explain anything about Surtur’s crown and Ragnarok on the bridge - it’s this nice little half-said conversation that serves to prove that...they actually know each other, that they’ve grown up together, had all this experience together before it all fell apart. It’s part of what I really appreciate about their relationship here. Their relationship is so dramatic and fraught in the first three films they’ve appeared together in, which is beautiful in it’s own way (you all know I love me a good dramatic angst speech), but I think here we really see what foundation there is to lay the ground of a reconciled, renewed relationship.

- Thor’s little ‘what have I done?’ makes me SAD

- I’m still waiting on that fucking hug, Marvel. I will never stop waiting on that hug. I will keep fucking writing fanfiction where they hug, and cuddle, and kiss each other’s foreheads, and cheeks, and touch each other, even just little touches to the arm or back to get the other’s attention. I will keep writing fucking PLATONIC BEDSHARING until I get my GODDAMN HUG, Marvel, I swear I will!

- I wish I could like the comparison posts between the end of The Dark World Thor and Endgame Thor, but the problem is...I love his coronation at the end of Ragnarok so much (how quiet and unadorned and clearly supported by the people it is) that I just...can’t get behind having to rewind that arc. It was such a good one. From ‘I can’t be both king and a good man’ to ‘to be a good man in this moment means becoming king’ and the title and power don’t necessarily fit him perfectly but you get the sense that he can grow into it and make it his own, and honestly that’s probably a good thing, and that’s what makes it possible for him to be a good king...and I just...it was perfect. Having to do it a second time (because otherwise he’s just like.....giving up literally everything?) is just...ah. I don’t know.

So that’s it! We’ve reached the end! Clearly, the end in which Thanos arrives and things are bad but Thor and Loki both survive (and Heimdall, he survives too) and eventually they defeat Thanos and recover and build a life together ruling Asgard reborn OBVIOUSLY.

I’m really glad I did this. I think I rewatched Ragnarok in...April? Just before Endgame? But I definitely wasn’t paying attention, was doing something else (something somewhat unpleasant if memory serves) and stopped halfway through. This was fun, and helpful! (I think some of my voices and aesthetics had started slipping a little bit in writing. I should probably watch the other two Thor movies, and Infinity War again too, refresh the inspiration box in my brain.)

Okay! End movie night!

[islehurricane-archive]

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING SO PEOPLE KNOW HOW SHIPS WORK ON YOUR BLOG

WHAT’S YOUR OTP FOR YOUR MUSE? : i’m... huma trash. but also sea3 ot3 bc all three of them loving each other yes plz.

WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO WRITE WHEN IT COMES TO SHIPPING? i mean, i’ve written pretty much anything i think. it really depends on my comfort level with my writing partner, and the muses in question, y’know?

HOW LARGE DOES THE AGE GAP HAVE TO BE TO MAKE IT UNCOMFORTABLE? for uma, who i write as 18, i’d frown at probably 22+? 25 and up are definitely out.

ARE YOU SELECTIVE WHEN SHIPPING? : i mean, chemistry is important, always. and... i really do need to feel comfortable just... talking to my ship partners because i know i am that person who will talk your ear off about our ship. but if we have that kind of bond, and our muses click, hell yeah!

HOW FAR DO STEAMY MOMENTS HAVE TO GO BEFORE THEY’RE CONSIDERED NS/FW?: when anything gets beyond casual swimsuit level states of dress, or hands slide under to get to that point? it’s been a while since i’ve actually written anything of that level, so... meh.

WHO ARE OTHER MUSES YOU SHIP YOUR MUSE WITH? : it’s easier to list who i don’t ship her with. (ben, evie, carlos, audrey, chad a little (i blame @chrmiing)...)

ANY NOTPS? : i’ll make the jokes, but i don’t ship uma with mal. it just feels... really unhealthy, especially when you think about how my muse’s inferiority complex is tied to her relationship (or lack there of) with mal. so.. yeah, nah. (also keep doug away.)

DOES ONE HAVE TO ASK TO SHIP WITH YOU? : yes and no? like, yeah, i’d like to know i’m not the only one sitting here shipping it, but also if you come up to me out of no where, and start our first conversation with ‘wanna ship?’ i’m... less likely? i don’t want to just be ship fodder, y’know? but if we’ve talked before, and threaded to the point where chemistry is there, hell yeah.

HOW OFTEN DO YOU LIKE TO SHIP? : more than i do. xD

ARE YOU MULTISHIP? : definitely.

ARE YOU SHIP-OBSESSED OR SHIP MORE-OR-LESS? : i’m trash, but it’s not the end all be all of rp.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SHIP IN YOUR CURRENT FANDOM? : coughcoughcoughsea3coughcough also i maaaaay have posted huma fanfic on ao3...

FINALLY, HOW DOES ONE SHIP WITH YOU? : write with me, chat with me, scream at me “OK BUT THEY’D BE CUTE TOGETHER” and we’ve probably got it going.

TAGGED BY: @devillains aka the reason carlos is up on the list of other muses i ship my muse with~)

TAGGING: you.