#freshbrainss

[femslashrevolution]

Holidays and Happy Endings 2024

Our femslashy followers,

Yes, it is that time of year once again! Since 2013 (with a few COVID-related breaks in between), we have hosted our annual Holidays and Happy Endings event here on the blog.

What is it?

This is a low-pressure end-of-the-year event in which we post exclusively holiday and winter-related content (see a few of our past years). We don't have any of our own prompt lists or exchanges (though we'd love if you'd submit any going on), we just call for related submissions. As long as they are festive and follow our submission guidelines, we want to see it!

What does the theme entail?

Whatever gets you in the festive spirit! All winter holidays from all backgrounds, faiths, and cultures are accepted. Think snowball fights, hot cocoa on the sofa, kissing under the mistletoe, toasting to the new year, celebrating new traditions, ice skating dates, etc. All of the things that make us warm and cozy.

Also, this is the time for happy endings in general, so if your OTP/ship/OCs are just super in love and deliriously happy, we want to see them, too! The main goal is good vibes (we love angst and whump--let's just wait for January!)

When is it?

This year, our themed posting will be from Tuesday, December 24 through Tuesday, December 31. Submissions will be accepted from now until the end of the event. Please let us know in your submission that it is for Holidays and Happy Endings 2024.

Thank you all for another amazing year in the femslash community. We look forward to sharing some festive fun with you! Please contact Mod Jess (@freshbrainss) with any questions or concerns.

[ezrisdax-archive]

emoji meme >> @freshbrainss asked: 💥

[elasticella]

Pride & Pussy: a femslash ficathon

A ficathon hosted on dreamwidth. Anon comments are enabled, so you don’t need an account to participate. Come join the fun!

[nixie-deangel]

For @freshbrainss, who asked for PepperMay. 

Pepper Potts x May Parker - Wedding AU. 

[shaloved30]

Have you watched Almost Family at all? There's a really good WLW arc so far with Megalyn Echikunwoke and Victoria Cartagena!

I have not. I didn’t think it would be for me tbh. I may check it though now that I know this. We’ll see.

[nooowestayandgetcaught]

challenge: make a poll with five of your all time favorite characters, and then tag five people to do the same. See which character is everyone's favorite.

tagged by: @clotpolesonly 🫂💜

Tagging: @glove23 @appledoom47 @torturedpoetskywalker @zorossugarmama @freshbrainss @rapha-reads @forevermorgue

challenge: make a poll with five of your all time favorite characters, and then tag five people to do the same. See which character is everyone's favorite.

tagged by: @if-you-give-a-gay-a-vampire 💖

i'll taaaaag: @adrianfridge @nyxelestia @thedaughterofkings @nooowestayandgetcaught @seavoice

[thehauntingsource]

Was there anything in the commentary about Catherine Parker's performance as Poppy Hill? I loved her in Flanagan's "Absentia" and was excited to see her in his newer work.

I’ve only watched one of the commentary episodes so far, episode 1. There’s three other episodes that have commentary, episode 5, 6 and 10. Mike will hopefully talk about Catherine during ep 10 because he is a huge fan of her and she really did an amazing job as Poppy.

I’m greedy and wish we got commentaries for every episode lol but I really do appreciate Mike doing commentary for the episodes that were chosen. This might sound weird but Mike has such a nice voice and it’s really nice to listen to him talk about the show lol.

— Vanessa

[nooowestayandgetcaught]

I've had "The Golden Compass" paperback on my shelf for years, but I just started reading it for the first time after seeing your show posts. And holy shit, I am so in love! I'm completely hooked on the story and characters. Thanks for inspiring me to get started bb. 💖💖

ISN’T IT WONDERFUL !?!?!?!

oh my gosh I’m so happy you can read it and watch too ;;;U;;;;

[nancykali]

Because I'm bored...what are some Jonathan/Kali/Nancy/Steve things you'd like to see in s3? Can be total dream shippy stuff or even just small interactions/plots. Craving more content.

dream stuff: nancy and kali kiss, stonathan kiss, car sex, the four of them taking a bath together, kali protecting will and el, kali and nancy beating up billy hargrove, steve and max bonding, jonathan and steve bonding, jonathan and el bonding, jonathan gets to talk to nancy and kali about his own emotions and anxieties and his depression, and they help him; steve and jonathan and nancy talk about their PTSD and comfort each other, kali and nancy comfort each other after opening up about their PTSD and kali about her abuse

small interactions/plots (my realistic (but still unlikely) expectation): kali and nancy talk to each other and have positive feelings for each other, max meets kali, will meets kali, kali finds out about mike being in love with el and vice versa and gets protective, kali meets steve and jonathan and jonathan actually gets his own plot (with nancy or steve or KALI ANYONE) that is more than supporting another person

[poolsidescientist]

003 - Valencia Perez

Hey @freshbrainss I just answered that in a previous post :)

[femslashrevolution]

I Am Femslash: Mod Jess

This post is part of Femslash Revolution’s I Am Femslash series, sharing voices of F/F creators from all walks of life. The views represented within are those of the author only.

(Thank you so much to those who suggested my name. You’ve made my new year! I do want to give a TW for some discussion of my personality history of alcohol, disordered eating, and mental illness...don’t worry, I got a happy ending!)

There’s a movie called Gold Diggers: Secret of Bear Mountain that I watched about a thousand times as a little girl. I wore out two VHS tapes (one of which my mom stole from Parrot Video and Tanning Salon for me in 1995). It was about two girls, Beth (played by Christina Ricci) and Jody (played by Anna Chlumsky), who meet over the summer and go on a treasure hunt together. The first time I watched the movie, I was three or four years old, and I was immediately attracted to Jody.

The thing was, I had an Uncle Jody, so I thought that was only a boy’s name. So, to me, Jody was a boy, and he teased and got a rise out of Beth, and I adored it. Then my mom told me that Jody was actually a girl—she just had short hair and wore tomboy clothes. I was so upset, and I don’t know why!

I know now, of course, that I was frustrated that Jody couldn’t have been flirting with Beth, because they were girls, and girls only did that with boys. So why did they make me feel like that? What had gone wrong inside of me to make me want that?

Despite my love for this movie (which is now cited for it’s amazing lesbian subtext), I absolutely did not think I was a lesbian growing up. I had no idea. I was bookish and shy and very feminine. I assigned myself strategic crushes on quiet, distant boys who were so far out of my league that there was no chance of anything actually happening.

Even fandom was a pretty male-centric place starting out. My introduction to online fandom actually began in the mid-2000’s with the Fueled by Ramen “bandom”—emo/alternative/rock bands like Fall Out Boy and Panic! At the Disco. I crushed on boys with slim hips and long hair and fingernail polish, boys who weren’t afraid to be feminine. It wasn’t very friendly towards women, and femslash was quite a foreign concept. But…the more feminine an artist was, the more I was drawn to him. I became quite enamored with Adam Lambert during his American Idol season because of his makeup and hair, and because, though he wasn’t out yet, I knew he was gay. I only ever was attracted to gay men, and I think this was similar to my unattainable crushes in grade school—it’s not as if anything could ever happen with them. They were safe.

Then, a little show called Glee popped up out of nowhere.

It seems normal now to anticipate pairings like Clarke and Lexa or Alex and Maggie on network TV. They’re possible now. Sure, there was Tara/Willow, but they were a bit before my time, and Arizona/Callie, but Grey’s was a little above my age bracket. But then there was a slow pan upwards from two pairs of sneaker-clad feet, four legs entwined with matching red cheerleading skirts, and my heart began hammering, my breathing quickened, I got all sweaty and cold at the same time.

It was happening, it was happening. Brittany and Santana were queer girls, and they were kissing, and it wasn’t a joke. I was a freshman in high school and knew so little about the world.

From then on, I was in the femslash fandom, confined to our desktop computer in the kitchen. Brittany/Santana gave way to Quinn/Rachel, who became my OTP. Many of my favorite fandoms weren’t femslash juggernauts (Emily/JJ from Criminal Minds was a big one for a while), but I always found small spaces with other femslash lovers. However, I was in the middle of writing a Criminal Minds high school AU that featured both Emily/JJ and the smaller pairing of Hotch/Reid. I received a firm, angry review from someone who wondered why I wasted my time on femslash when people only read for my slash pairings. They said femslash wasn’t really a thing in fandom.

I quit fandom for three years after that.

In that time, I still identified as straight, and to this day, I don’t know why. I was only attracted to women; I was not attracted to men except in the abstract. I was growing bored with straight romance movies and books. I sought almost exclusively LGBT media and I still do today. But maybe I thought it was a phase. Maybe I thought I’d grow out of it. Maybe I just didn’t care, because I was anxious and depressed, I battled intrusive thoughts and dissociation every day, I binge ate and drank, and I had a wicked nicotine addiction.

I got into college, moved out, and I still identified as straight. I loved college and completely flourished creatively, academically, and socially. I quit smoking, changed my style from very feminine to relaxed and tomboyish, and stopped wearing makeup. I won several writing contests and read hundreds of books. But my drinking got worse and so did my anxiety, no matter how happy I thought I was. To make matters worse, I drank alone—I partied with my friends and had great times, but my drinking was a solitary thing. Because if I drank around my new friends, I might say something. I might admit something to them. I wasn’t ready for that. But it took me a long time to realize that when I drank alone and blacked out on my dorm room floor, I was just trying to hold off from admitting something to myself.

It took me a long time to come out. I won’t bore you with what is really a very boring story, but I will say it was very difficult but I received a lot of support from many people. Due to this, I can’t help but feel much of my high school and college experiences were wasted due to my being closeted.

Around this time, I got into the Teen Wolf fandom, which is still my biggest fandom experience. While there were no canon femslash pairings, there was still a thriving femslash fandom that I got involved in right away. I then found Once Upon a Time and Orphan Black years later—two fandoms that I joined mainly because of the main femslash ships.

And the only way I noticed those ships was through this awesome new blog I found called Femslash Revolution. I knew I had to get in on the action, so I contacted Lulu, the amazing person who made it all happen and guided me every step of the way. There would be no blog without her—that’s a given. She’s the woman behind the curtain, and we owe it all to her. Looking back, I can’t believe how small we were back then, and that was only a few years ago! Our pairing tags fit on one page, and we got the chance to spotlight fandoms with popular femslash content, including relatively new fandoms like Orange Is the New Black.

Now, I am out and proud. I’m a published writer. I have also written over 900 individual pieces of fan fiction. I live comfortably and easily. I started medication for my mental illness and by necessity stopped drinking, which was the best thing that I ever did. I am in recovery from my eating disorder. And through it all, this blog has been here. Clarke Griffin has been here. Alana Bloom has been here. Santana Lopez, Alex Danvers, Cosima Niehaus, Poussey Washington, and Amy Raudenfeld have all been here, smiling and laughing and crying along with me, filling me with their strength and inspiration and the idea that we exist, and we aren’t going anywhere.

And you guys have been right here, too. I hope you stick around for a long, long time.

About the Author: @freshbrainss

By day, I go by Jess. I love cats, coffee, and Minnesota winters. And why, yes, I am single. You can find me at AO3 and on LJ. I also mod for a LJ drabble community called femslash100, so if you’re a writer, come and play with us!

[ezrisdax-archive]

make me choose: @rannochs and @freshbrainss asked: Michael/Tilly or Joann/Keyla

[elasticella]

Narcissistic November a ficathon focused on the self

Come play with us! Anonymous commenting is allowed, so you don’t need a dreamwidth to participate. For full rules and to join, click here \o/

[nixie-deangel]

Hope/Sharon headcanons? 💘

They first met in college at a frat party, Sharon had noticed this rather quiet looking girl getting aggressively hit on at the local all night dinner and had started to head over and break it up, only about 10 steps away she froze as she watched the other promptly execute the most perfect right hook she’d ever seen. 

It was definitely love at first sight for Sharon.

They ended up talking, and becoming friends and study buddies the rest of semester, before slowly working into dating.

Which lasted until Hope graduated and moved back to Cali for her masters work. 

They tried to keep in touch, but life happens ya know? 

So they lost contact until Sharon got assigned to watch Scott for Shield after Ant-Man showed up.

(Hope totally fall back in love when a few months later she watched Sharon do an absolutely beautiful roundhouse kick.)

[shaloved30]

I am dying for ANY All Rise Lola, Sherri, Sara, or Emily content. I love all these characters already and want to see more of them!

Here you go. Thanks for the request!

[danpuff-ao3]

Recs List: Femslash Faves (for Sapphic Semptember)

For months I've been meaning to do a femslash list and thinking on it today, it occurred to me: "It's September...Sapphic September!! You have to do it NOW!! NOW NOW NOW!" So here we are!

On the plus side, my panic means I don't have much time to dawdle and overthink. All of these were the standouts to me, the ones that rushed into my mind when thinking of fics to include. So they're, of course, the BEST!

There are so many talented creators out there making such great wlw content! It does my heart good! Please share, give these creators some love, and tell me what femslash fics YOU love while you're at it!

Shades of Dawn

by @corvuscrowned Ginny/Lavender. Rated E. 2k.

Aching & beautiful.

It happens once a month — the full moon fades in the black night sky, replaced with the pink light of dawn. Ginny’s Floo sparks — vibrant green, devoured by gold and amber light. And out spills Lavender Brown.

Clip, Ravel, Cleave

by doshu (@vdoshu).Andromeda/Bellatrix. Andromeda/Tonks. Rated E. 15k.

So tragic and dark and gorgeous; I couldn't help but root for Bellatrix and Andromeda, however wrong it was.

Before Andromeda met Ted, she was a Black, through and through. While years later the story was told that she’d turned her back on her family’s dark ways, in truth, nothing was so simple.

In the beginning, it was just Andromeda and Bella. And it was just the two of them until it was too much.

Apples and Oranges Too

by drawlight (@ripeteeth). Ginny/Hermione. Rated E. 1k.

This one is so sad and passionate at the same time. They can't stay away from one another, but they can't be together.

You’re trouble, Hermione thinks. You’ve always been trouble. That’s the trouble with you.

Plenitude

by eldritcher. Hermione/Amelia. Rated M. 1k.

"Falling in love with somebody I don't really know isn't the strangest thing that has happened to me." -- and as I told the author (and anyone who will listen): "emotion does not logic."

Hers soon an hour of plenitude.

You burn me

by @etalice Ginny/Luna. Rated M. 3k.

Just stunning! Friendship & passion!

Ginny doesn’t notice the cool autumn air licking at the skin of her back. She’s ablaze with passion and want, her fire-skinned hands spreading across Luna’s moon-wax skin like the flame that devoured Serra de Sintra once. Lunae Mons, the ancients called them. Moon mountains, dwelling of Diana the Huntress, Diana of the underworld, Diana of the thrice-splitting way. But it is not Diana that Ginny worships with her hands and mouth, it is not Diana for whom Ginny’s heart sings hymns and psalms (Luna is a goddess in her own right, ruling over apple trees and old wooden stairs, overseeing windowsills and rocks and garden hedges.)

In the wake of her breakup with Harry, Ginny moves in with Luna and falls in love.

A Learning Opportunity

by floweringjudas. Oliver/Percy. Rated M. 4k.

A fun genderswap!

A potion goes awry, Percy and Oliver are turned into girls. Hijinx ensue.

Sunbeam

by @freshbrainss. Ginny/Luna. Rated E. 2k.

Sexy & sweet!

For the hundredth time that afternoon, Luna thanks the sky for sunlight.

Find This Feeling

by @gracerene. Ginny/Alicia. Rated E. 27k.

Empowering tale of self-discovery and growing up.

Ginny has everything she ever wanted: a lovely (if small) flat in the City, a wonderful boyfriend to share it with, and most importantly, her dream job as a reserve Chaser with the Holyhead Harpies. She thinks she's got life all figured out, until a new friendship forces her to reevaluate everything she thought she knew about herself.

This Stone at My Back

by Lomonaaeren. Ginny/Luna. Rated M. 3k.

Home & love.

A tour around Ginny and Luna's shared home, built amid the roots of both tree and stone.

Love and Other Forms of Chaos

by @lqtraintracks. Hermione/Millicent. Rated E. 7k.

Older characters finding love again. Plus cool magical theory talks and chaos!! Who doesn't love chaos??

"In the space between chaos and shape there was another chance." ~Jeanette Winterson

Français

by not_here_leave_a_message. Fleur/Hermione. Rated T. 4k.

Cute & funny!

Viktor was subtle but straight-forward. He had questions and he asked them and he got to know her that way. And Fleur? Fleur was a mess who aired her woes about her crush to her friends. In French.

...too bad Hermione speaks French. Sshhh!

shine

by @onbeinganangel. Ginny/Luna. Rated E. 1k.

Just thinking of this fic makes me happy. So lovely!

It’s different now they share a bed. It’s different now they share a life. It’s different now Luna is not in her blue trimmed uniform, wrapped in a brown tatty blanket. Luna is in their bed, in their house, and she wears soft silk nightgowns in pastel colours with thin lace straps. Her hair is even longer than it was before and Ginny wakes up with it on her face and in her mouth and tickling her shoulders and arms.

Nine Ways of Looking at a Book

by pauraque. Hermione/Minerva. Rated M. 1k.

One of my favorites! Warmth, intimacy, and beauty in every interaction. (I really do need more Minmione in my life!)

Hermione has come back to Hogwarts to teach history. She finds herself looking to the future, too.

Lit Match

by @phantomato. Lily/Alecto. Rated E. 1k.

Humans made of Lily and Alecto both; a little gritty, a little flawed, but oh so interesting!

Redheads should stick together.

From the Tents of Kedar

by rinsbane. Pansy/Millicent. Pansy/Fleur. Rated E. 10k.

Angst. Screwed up people screwing up (and finding love along the way.)

Millicent is everything Pansy thought she’d never touch: a fellow Slytherin, someone her own age – someone ugly, for god’s sake. Funny how things work out, isn’t it? Post-Hogwarts, post-war. Romance, really, despite warnings, and Pansy-centric.

Accept the Extraordinary

by RoozetteR. Luna/Tonks. Rated M. 2k.

Recovery, comfort, support.

No one really knows how Luna ended up living at Lupin cottage after the war. But Tonks keeps the Wrakspurts away and gives Luna hope that the world will sparkle for her again.

Breaking wild roses (stings like love's pain)

by @teacup-tai. Hermione/Pansy. Rated E. 1k.

Practically poetry. 2nd person POV.

I feel like a scream is stuck inside my chest, creeping up in the deep dark hollow of my throat. It’s a mix of pain and agony. So to keep it down, I open my mouth and fill it with your soft, tender flesh. The bronze skin of your shoulder right against my tongue.

A Study in Violet

by tofugumball. Hermione/Angelina, Hermione/Luna. Rated M. 5k.

A beautiful transition from young love to true love.

Flowers in amber are scentless. Hermione realised that years ago. But now, for the first time, it hits her how truly dull they are when compared with a colourful, breathing garden.

or,

Five times Hermione pines after a fantasy and one time she finds real love.

Let's hurt tonight (If love is pain)

by Twot. Fleur/Hermione. Rated M.

Sad soulmates (cool concept, but did I mention sad?)

When she was younger, Fleur actively searched for her soulmate. She craved for the one that would make her heart beat wild, but her soul feel calm.Her understanding of how sick the concept of soulmates was started with Gabrielle.

. The blonde avoided the Gryffindor like a boggart the light and the Gryffindor followed her like a niffler the gold.

Hermione was detirmined to fight for a chance with her soulmate . Soulmate au where you can feel your soulmate's pain

Under Different Stars

by Woldy. Luna/Tonks. Rated E. 2k.

Not everything has to make sense, but it feels oh so right!

They're so different that Tonks doesn't understand why it works, but somehow it does work.

Hot, Red

by wynnebat (@wynnefic). Alecto/Bellatrix. Rated E. 800.

Can confirm: is hot.

"When my mother taught me this spell, I think she was imagining quite a different circumstance."