Femslash Feb meme/questions challenge
Feb. 11th, 2022 12:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jajalalaA meme/challenge by flo_nelja was brought to my attention recently, and since it's a lot of fun questions about F/F shipping I thought I'd take part (consolidated but split up a bit). Here's the original post with the questions
1) First time you encountered canon femslash
Probably Haruka/Michiru from Sailor Moon! I remembered being very confused though, because they were "cousins" in the English dub. I was like "Why are these girlfriends pretending to be cousins? Is that their 'cover' or something? Or is this an incest situation???" The first unambiguous one probably would have been Willow/Tara from Buffy!
2) First times you encountered femslash shipping
Hard to remember, I didn't consume a lot of fan content until late high school, but... Maybe Korra/Asami? I remember seeing some DeviantArt fanart when I was in middle or high school!
3) Is femslash the main part of your fandom life?
Lol yes. Most the fandoms I'm in (currently primarily BNHA) I'm always on the lookout for femslash or femslash-adjacent events, and it occupies the majority of my writing/drawing (though I've dabbled in a handful of M/M as well).
4) Have you already started a canon just because you knew there would be femslash shipping opportunities?
Not exactly, but uh... I did watch all of Legend of Korra because I saw someone post an edited screenshot of the two of them kissing in the last episode. I thought that was going to happen. I hated the first season but I plowed through it because I thought they would kiss. I know the holding hands and the subtext of their romance was still powerful and a good step forward for representation, but I won't deny that the main reason I started the show was to see them kiss!
I also remember trying to get into Steven Universe, not liking the first two episodes and dropping it, then seeing a clip of "Stronger Than You" and forcing myself to get back into it to see these two girls fuse with love. Ended up being worth it!
Then I heard about Bubblegum/Marceline from adventure time... and that's such a long show, that I just looked up a guide for all the episodes Marceline and/or Bubblegum were central in and watched those! I'm noticing a pattern now... Of course I watched She-ra and Revolutionary Girl Utena for gay reasons as well.
To be honest though those situations are more like "I wanna see the little canon bits (or a lot in some eventually) of F/F that are given," rather than necessarily jumping to "I want these characters in my sandbox to do F/F shipping."
5) Canon, subtext, or make-everything-work-by-yourself ships?
Lol a lot of my ships haven't even met in canon, so 'make-everything-work-by-yourself.' To be honest if they're canon, I generally don't feel as much of a need to create for them you know? Like they're already there, if you like them together you can consume canon, you don't need the fanworks about it.
6) A femslash ship you feel like you're alone in shipping
I've been reaching out and finding communities, so I don't feel completely alone in most my F/F ships! Fuyumi/Burnin from bnha is pretty rare, but I've certainly seen fan content about them!
7) Did you see a change in femslash fandom since the time you started fandom?
I only started fandom in the last several years, and have only in the past year or two gotten more actively involved in communities and such... So I don't feel like there's been a big change per se, but I do feel as though I've gotten better at finding communities and events that ship the same things I do!
8) Some femslash poly ships? What are your opinions about f/f/m poly?
To be honest I struggle a lil with poly (in fiction) since it seems really hard to balance! I'm so used to one-on-one relationships that I struggle to see how it'd work, though I'm certainly not against the concept itself. I've seen some compelling Miruko/Burnin/Fuyumi pieces that intrigue me... but personally I don't quite know how to write it!
F/F/M poly? In theory I feel the same as poly in general, but in my particular fandom... To be honest in the bnha fandom, there's quite a bit of 'main character and his two girlfriends' (or more, in some harem fics) that turns me off to the idea. I believe there are cases where it's written with love and nuance and thoughtfulness and where the F/F part also have their own unique and loving component to the relationship... but so much of the time it just feels like a writer self-inserting and being like "I can't choose between two of my waifus, so I'm gonna say he can date both and tag the F/F pair even though their 'relationship' is just about them fucking the same guy." So I guess I'm open to it, but wary.
(I will say there's a particular group in Demon Slayers that's F/F/F/M and looks cute and compelling... I have not watched Demon Slayer and don't intend to, but whenever I see gifsets of this dude and his three wives I honestly love the vibe. If any of y'all reading know more about the relationship lmk, but I think it's cute and would watch Demon Slayer if it was just about whatever the fuck is going on there.)
9) Do you feel like shipping femslash is different from shipping slash, het or other? How?
Well there's certainly less of it! In many canons there are less female characters with less starting relationships to work from, and in fanon there's a lot less readers/engagement around femslash (there are exceptions of course... She-ra comes to mind).
But in general I think it's often working from a different, less-developed palette. You have to do a lot more work to get the characters and relationship into something juicy. Of course I'm currently knee-deep in a Shounen manga fandom, so that might be coloring my thoughts quite heavily at the moment. I like to phrase it as seeing a lot of blank spaces... You have a lot more freedom to fill it with what you want, but it also means different people may have very varied takes on a character, or that the characterization falls a lil flat with little canon depth to work from. You gotta recognize that a lot of these characters are written with sexism (not tryna be rude, everyone's got sexism to work though, just saying it's prominent in the shounen manga world) so part of writing them is trying to figure out what these gals could be if the sexism of their original writing were removed (or at least dampened) from the equation, and trying to remedy that while still having them feel somewhat in-character and within the bounds of canon.
10) Favourites tropes for femslash ships?
I'm not gonna lie, a big dosage of compulsory heterosexuality to work through for at least one of the pair is relatable to me, and can be spun in both a humorous and angsty way. I'm also a sucker for enemies-to-lovers (The new She-ra blessed my life) and fake dating for all ships.
11) Fluff, humor, angst, or smut?
Ohohohoh I'm a smut lover at heart. I like things juicy, and I like em engaging. Some angst is good for flavor, but I also don't like to be depressed so moderation is key. Humor is also great, positive vibes, I prefer things that don't get too heavy or can at least break up the heavy tension with a good joke or two. Fluff? Well... I certainly like fluff, but I generally need SOMETHING else there too (even if it's just humor).
This was super fun to do! I may do other questions later in the month, but this was great to get some thoughts out in a semi-organized manner.
flo_nelja was brought to my attention recently, and since it's a lot of fun questions about F/F shipping I thought I'd take part (consolidated but split up a bit). Here's the original post with the questions1) First time you encountered canon femslash
Probably Haruka/Michiru from Sailor Moon! I remembered being very confused though, because they were "cousins" in the English dub. I was like "Why are these girlfriends pretending to be cousins? Is that their 'cover' or something? Or is this an incest situation???" The first unambiguous one probably would have been Willow/Tara from Buffy!
2) First times you encountered femslash shipping
Hard to remember, I didn't consume a lot of fan content until late high school, but... Maybe Korra/Asami? I remember seeing some DeviantArt fanart when I was in middle or high school!
3) Is femslash the main part of your fandom life?
Lol yes. Most the fandoms I'm in (currently primarily BNHA) I'm always on the lookout for femslash or femslash-adjacent events, and it occupies the majority of my writing/drawing (though I've dabbled in a handful of M/M as well).
4) Have you already started a canon just because you knew there would be femslash shipping opportunities?
Not exactly, but uh... I did watch all of Legend of Korra because I saw someone post an edited screenshot of the two of them kissing in the last episode. I thought that was going to happen. I hated the first season but I plowed through it because I thought they would kiss. I know the holding hands and the subtext of their romance was still powerful and a good step forward for representation, but I won't deny that the main reason I started the show was to see them kiss!
I also remember trying to get into Steven Universe, not liking the first two episodes and dropping it, then seeing a clip of "Stronger Than You" and forcing myself to get back into it to see these two girls fuse with love. Ended up being worth it!
Then I heard about Bubblegum/Marceline from adventure time... and that's such a long show, that I just looked up a guide for all the episodes Marceline and/or Bubblegum were central in and watched those! I'm noticing a pattern now... Of course I watched She-ra and Revolutionary Girl Utena for gay reasons as well.
To be honest though those situations are more like "I wanna see the little canon bits (or a lot in some eventually) of F/F that are given," rather than necessarily jumping to "I want these characters in my sandbox to do F/F shipping."
5) Canon, subtext, or make-everything-work-by-yourself ships?
Lol a lot of my ships haven't even met in canon, so 'make-everything-work-by-yourself.' To be honest if they're canon, I generally don't feel as much of a need to create for them you know? Like they're already there, if you like them together you can consume canon, you don't need the fanworks about it.
6) A femslash ship you feel like you're alone in shipping
I've been reaching out and finding communities, so I don't feel completely alone in most my F/F ships! Fuyumi/Burnin from bnha is pretty rare, but I've certainly seen fan content about them!
7) Did you see a change in femslash fandom since the time you started fandom?
I only started fandom in the last several years, and have only in the past year or two gotten more actively involved in communities and such... So I don't feel like there's been a big change per se, but I do feel as though I've gotten better at finding communities and events that ship the same things I do!
8) Some femslash poly ships? What are your opinions about f/f/m poly?
To be honest I struggle a lil with poly (in fiction) since it seems really hard to balance! I'm so used to one-on-one relationships that I struggle to see how it'd work, though I'm certainly not against the concept itself. I've seen some compelling Miruko/Burnin/Fuyumi pieces that intrigue me... but personally I don't quite know how to write it!
F/F/M poly? In theory I feel the same as poly in general, but in my particular fandom... To be honest in the bnha fandom, there's quite a bit of 'main character and his two girlfriends' (or more, in some harem fics) that turns me off to the idea. I believe there are cases where it's written with love and nuance and thoughtfulness and where the F/F part also have their own unique and loving component to the relationship... but so much of the time it just feels like a writer self-inserting and being like "I can't choose between two of my waifus, so I'm gonna say he can date both and tag the F/F pair even though their 'relationship' is just about them fucking the same guy." So I guess I'm open to it, but wary.
(I will say there's a particular group in Demon Slayers that's F/F/F/M and looks cute and compelling... I have not watched Demon Slayer and don't intend to, but whenever I see gifsets of this dude and his three wives I honestly love the vibe. If any of y'all reading know more about the relationship lmk, but I think it's cute and would watch Demon Slayer if it was just about whatever the fuck is going on there.)
9) Do you feel like shipping femslash is different from shipping slash, het or other? How?
Well there's certainly less of it! In many canons there are less female characters with less starting relationships to work from, and in fanon there's a lot less readers/engagement around femslash (there are exceptions of course... She-ra comes to mind).
But in general I think it's often working from a different, less-developed palette. You have to do a lot more work to get the characters and relationship into something juicy. Of course I'm currently knee-deep in a Shounen manga fandom, so that might be coloring my thoughts quite heavily at the moment. I like to phrase it as seeing a lot of blank spaces... You have a lot more freedom to fill it with what you want, but it also means different people may have very varied takes on a character, or that the characterization falls a lil flat with little canon depth to work from. You gotta recognize that a lot of these characters are written with sexism (not tryna be rude, everyone's got sexism to work though, just saying it's prominent in the shounen manga world) so part of writing them is trying to figure out what these gals could be if the sexism of their original writing were removed (or at least dampened) from the equation, and trying to remedy that while still having them feel somewhat in-character and within the bounds of canon.
10) Favourites tropes for femslash ships?
I'm not gonna lie, a big dosage of compulsory heterosexuality to work through for at least one of the pair is relatable to me, and can be spun in both a humorous and angsty way. I'm also a sucker for enemies-to-lovers (The new She-ra blessed my life) and fake dating for all ships.
11) Fluff, humor, angst, or smut?
Ohohohoh I'm a smut lover at heart. I like things juicy, and I like em engaging. Some angst is good for flavor, but I also don't like to be depressed so moderation is key. Humor is also great, positive vibes, I prefer things that don't get too heavy or can at least break up the heavy tension with a good joke or two. Fluff? Well... I certainly like fluff, but I generally need SOMETHING else there too (even if it's just humor).
This was super fun to do! I may do other questions later in the month, but this was great to get some thoughts out in a semi-organized manner.
no subject
Date: 2022-02-12 04:55 am (UTC)(I will say there's a particular group in Demon Slayers that's F/F/F/M and looks cute and compelling... I have not watched Demon Slayer and don't intend to, but whenever I see gifsets of this dude and his three wives I honestly love the vibe. If any of y'all reading know more about the relationship lmk, but I think it's cute and would watch Demon Slayer if it was just about whatever the fuck is going on there.)
I've watched the first season and the movie, and have absorbed some fandom knowledge for anything else via osmosis. They're more of supporting characters, but from what I've heard their marriage is really very cute.
no subject
Date: 2022-02-12 01:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-02-12 12:52 pm (UTC)And I second
no subject
Date: 2022-02-12 01:57 pm (UTC)If I think of M/F/F poly outside the context of those frustrated searches, I feel much less wary! (Also ngl KamiJirouMomo is something that compels me... but I've never found a fic/piece that quite works for me).
If you love polyships keep an eye out for the bnha poly bang which will be posting in mid/early March!
no subject
Date: 2022-02-13 08:26 am (UTC)KamiJirouMomo 👀 I had never thought of it but now I'm curious XD
Oh, yeah the polybang! I was going to sign up with the ShigaNatsuRumi fic but it didn't work out well timing-wise and I didn't want to risk making the process more stressful with deadlines. Looking forward to seeing what everyone came up with!! Did you participate?
no subject
Date: 2022-02-13 04:52 pm (UTC)Yes, I joined just before it closed because someone in a discord server I'm in happened to mention they were writing an F/F/F for it, and the bang was still looking for artists... As it turned out there were a handful of F/F/F ships, which was exciting as an artist when I went choosing summaries! So I've done a (spicy) art piece for it, but can't share until the post date!
Also ShigaNatsuRumi === White-haired trio extreme. Understand the urge to write without deadlines/restrictions, especially if it's an idea you feel particularly invested in! There was a bang awhile back I was in that ended up having some restrictions that made me struggle and hesitate on a work I was excited for... but ahaha the bang kind of blew up so my WIP is an independent piece now, and I'm relieved about it.
no subject
Date: 2022-02-13 05:54 pm (UTC)Sorry about the bad bang experience. I'm glad it huh sorted itself out in the end even that sounds all kinds of unfortunate, too!! And good luck dealing with the multi-tab monster XD