*waves hands* leverage fandom, you may now spontaneously grow

[vanitashaze]

...Did it work? No? Drat.

Really, though, why not? This is a good show, people! It's kind of stupid sometimes, but that's okay. Think of all the fun toys we get to play with: Sophie, Parker, Hardison, Eliot, in fact, pretty much everyone except Nate, who's a bit tiresome with his epic angst but sort of essential when it comes to plot, so, damn, we're kind of stuck with him. Whatever. Less Nate-centric episodes, that's the spot - we've had approximately eleventy-bajillion since the first episode, compared to everyone else's two, except for poor Hardison, whom to my recollection got one, as it could be argued that The Mile High Job was centered around him. This is obviously a grievous error, as he is made of nothing but pure and unrefined awesome. Age of the geek, baby. *sighs dreamily* And Parker. Parker is also awesome. They make such an adorable fake FBI team.

Also, fandom, I demand girl!Eliot. Just so you know.

Comments

[ticketsonmyself.livejournal.com]

Eliot-as-a-woman would be amazing.

Also, fandom, please stop with the overwhelming amounts of Eliot/Nate already. And I demand more Parker/Sophie. More plotty female-centric gen and femslash! And always more Alec with anyone (epecially Parker! they are my favorites!).

[vanitashaze.livejournal.com]

AGREED. Now to find someone to write her for me... *goes hunting*

Also agreement on the Eliot/Nate front. I do not understand the appeal of that ship, at all, except perhaps for those who have the overwhelming urge to stir up Eliot's Daddy issues and Nate's - er, just "issues". Leverage is all about family and friendship, basically - loyalty and support from the most unexpected of people - and Eliot/Nate seems like it would be if not the complete antithesis to that, then at least a serious case of malcontent en la familia. So, yeah. Bring on the Parker/Hardison! And if you really need confrontation, invite Eliot along, because he has an edge with Hardison, but it's not as bitter as the one with Nate, and as long as its not cash we're talking about, I'd think Parker would probably be happy to share. And if Parker's not happy, she'll just put explosives down his pants. Again.

Have you read thingswithwings' Fall Stories (http://thingswithwings.dreamwidth.org/60808.html)?

[ticketsonmyself.livejournal.com]

I do not understand the appeal of that ship, at all, except perhaps for those who have the overwhelming urge to stir up Eliot's Daddy issues and Nate's - er, just "issues". Leverage is all about family and friendship, basically - loyalty and support from the most unexpected of people - and Eliot/Nate seems like it would be if not the complete antithesis to that, then at least a serious case of malcontent en la familia.

TRUFAX to all of that!

I think Alec/Eliot is sweet! As is Parker/Alec/Eliot. Truthfully, my only real issue with either of those is that I keep thinking Christian Kane's hair looks like he's been ironing it, and then I get distracted with the thought of horses, wild horses running free. ...I know, I know.

I'd think Parker would probably be happy to share. And if Parker's not happy, she'll just put explosives down his pants. Again.

Ahahahaha, agreed.

[vanitashaze.livejournal.com]

Truthfully, my only real issue with either of those is that I keep thinking Christian Kane's hair looks like he's been ironing it, and then I get distracted with the thought of horses, wild horses running free.

I... am not sure what to say. In fact, I do not think anything could be. Your mind is a strange place sometimes, my dear! And yeah, they're totally sweet, which I think would weird Eliot out completely - you just know that after a week or month or whatever of Hardison and Parker he'd be going o.O; they just have that.... competitive edge. Geek vs Jock! Scientist vs Soldier! New school vs old school! Plus Parker to even things out - and laugh at their foolishness - because, you know, she is her own school, and right damn good at it.

Leverage fic is very hard to find, y/y? Maybe because of people's attitudes towards the fandom as a "staple". I can't think of a single writer who writes primarily Leverage; everyone just dabbles in it, and as a result, it's terrifically scattered. (Same with Kings. Grr.) But I'll keep my eye open for more femslash - I think facetofcathy might have written some, or maybe zvi_likes_tv. (See what I mean? Confusing!)

[vanitashaze.livejournal.com]

Aha! Found it (http://archiveofourown.org/works/5266)!

[ticketsonmyself.livejournal.com]

I really like "An Exercise in Friendship" in all its gen qualities (also whatever Maggie and Nate and Sophie are working out in the background... I've thought for some time that'd be an awesome OT3). Sophie and Parker's relationship as depicted there reminds me of a relationship I've had with someone, especially the part about napping at the end. I love Parker and Sophie's observations about others and themselves, too.

[vanitashaze.livejournal.com]

...also whatever Maggie and Nate and Sophie are working out in the background... I've thought for some time that'd be an awesome OT3... I'd never thought of it before, but TOTALLY AGREED. What is it with this fandom and OT3s? Usually there's one, maybe two, but this one grows them like my neighbor's arrest record!

Zvi does write them unusually introspective, yes. That's the problem I think I'd have writing in this fandom - with the exception of Nate and Sophie, the characters don't slow down very much, and their worlds are made of absolutes - while you could argue that the whole Robin Hood thing was for them an exercise in changing moral geographies, all of them are so set in their opinions that 90% of the time, it's not the world challenging those beliefs, but the characters challenging the world. Like, they already know which actions are right/wrong, and the only question is how they are going to go about taking those actions. Sophie would be an interesting character to write, though, especially Zvi's Sophie.

But yeah. Napping = sweet. Right on cue, aw.

[ticketsonmyself.livejournal.com]

I... am not sure what to say. In fact, I do not think anything could be. Your mind is a strange place sometimes, my dear!

Ahahaha, sorry. I think the connection goes something like this: Christian Kane's hair! -> looks kind of like a pony's mane! -> horses, wild horses running free! With a possible detour to "What would Eliot look like as a My Little Pony?" ...then my brain cuts that chain of speculation off in self-defense. Though I think the Leverage team would make an adorable herd of My Little Ponies, hmm?

And yeah, they're totally sweet, which I think would weird Eliot out completely - you just know that after a week or month or whatever of Hardison and Parker he'd be going o.O; they just have that.... competitive edge. Geek vs Jock! Scientist vs Soldier! New school vs old school! Plus Parker to even things out - and laugh at their foolishness - because, you know, she is her own school, and right damn good at it.

YES. Awww, they'd all be so sweet together.

ijemanja's written some good Leverage! Here are two of my favorites: "Falling," (http://ijemanja.livejournal.com/109860.html?format=light) a Parker & Sophie gen short, and "the guys on hotwomenofcrime.net are never going to believe this," (http://ijemanja.livejournal.com/109606.html?format=light) a short take on Sterling's hilarious (and of course totally unrequited) crush on Parker.

against my better instincts, I seem to have started multiple comment threads on one post. Again.

[vanitashaze.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I wonder if futuresoon is watching Leverage yet, because that image there is an image begging for an illustration. Let's see, we have Alcoholic Pony, who bites - no comb has ever touched his mane - and Grumpy Pony, driven to violence by overgrooming... and European Pony, who you'd swear was a Thoroughbred, and Hacker Pony, who makes amusing comments if you pull his hind leg... and lastly the one only known as "Pony", the death of the My Little Pony franchise from lawsuits, because - they swear - blink and the damn thing's gone. Obviously defective, maybe it blows up. Because Little Ponies do not just vanish. Right?

I'm tempted to rename Nate's new apartment the Love Shack.

Speaking of hilarious, look what I found! Hardison/Eliot, who by sheer dint of title alone - the gloriously-named The Hole (http://darkeyedwolf.livejournal.com/326479.html) - I can forgive for lack of pairing originality (something about this fandom makes me want OT3s and really complex surprising pairings), and even more awesomely: TEYLA! (http://liviapenn.livejournal.com/549018.html)

Someone has to be here to laugh. I feel I'm the best laugher.

[ticketsonmyself.livejournal.com]

Parker/Hardison/Eliot and Maggie/Nate/Sophie are the only Leverage OT3s I feel enthusiastic about, but I agree, there are a lot of different interesting pairings available to fandom speculation, thanks to the relationship dynamics actually shown or suggested in canon!

with the exception of Nate and Sophie, the characters don't slow down very much, and their worlds are made of absolutes - while you could argue that the whole Robin Hood thing was for them an exercise in changing moral geographies, all of them are so set in their opinions that 90% of the time, it's not the world challenging those beliefs, but the characters challenging the world. Like, they already know which actions are right/wrong, and the only question is how they are going to go about taking those actions.

Right on. I guess what I look for in Leverage fic is a mix of character/relationship studies and (well-characterized) capers, in addition to my usual preferences; it's not a show for big ethical questions, and in that sense the potential scope is on a smaller scale for fic as well. And good comedy with plot can be tough to write, so I do value that when I find it, especially in Leverage caper fic. I can hardly think of any character-exploration Leverage stories I've admired, much less any about Sophie... and you're right, the possibilities suggested by the Sophie of "An Exercise in Friendship" are fascinating.

Yes! Napping = awwwww. It's kind of intimate without necessarily having romantic overtones.

You're absolutely right, your description of the Leverage My Little Ponies REQUIRES illustration!

I'm tempted to rename Nate's new apartment the Love Shack.

Ahahaha, awesome.

I enjoyed those stories when I first read them, and I enjoyed rereading! And oh, Teyla, of course you would totally pwn a mugger and Eliot. The details made it really believable! He's going to genuinely love having his ass kicked by Ronon, too. Well, not the ass-kicking per se, but learning new skills.

How's it goin' with The Sarah Connor Chronicles? I just watched a really great, brand-new video with spoilers for the whole series, so I want to point you to it when/if you're ready!

[ticketsonmyself.livejournal.com]

I hadn't read "Fall Stories"! Thank you for recommending it; I love it. Everyone's characterization is great, the dialogue is great, the makeouts are great. And BEST ENDING! Yay!

[hanuueshe.livejournal.com]

The second I get those DVDs, I am in that fandom, because it sounds like a good time.

[vanitashaze.livejournal.com]

Are you kidding? It's a blast. And if you want the episodes now, you could just download them off the El-Jay; I get 'em from tvshare, no torrents involved.

[arabian.livejournal.com]

I just watched the whole thing over a couple of days and it is wonderful. I love, love, love Hardison and Parker. So much good times fun!!! (Well, when not focusing on the death of a child or alcoholism and all that jazz.)

[vanitashaze.livejournal.com]

Have you seen the latest episode? They're FBI agents! And before that, they dress in funny pastels and call each other Binky! (And Nate is, for once, hilarious. No dead kids or alcohol here, though as Sophie points out, there might have been a dead cat or two.)

[arabian.livejournal.com]

I just wish they'd been Binky longer, "she likes air." Hee!! I totally ship them. Yes, Nate was hilarious.

Man, I so need to make a Hardison/Parker icon.