Femslash For Fans  

Obviously fan fiction can't live without writers, but the people who help spread fanfic to the greatest number of people possible are almost as important. Thousands of authors host their own works at websites, Facebook pages, and Livejournals, but nothing makes life easier for the well-rounded readers, the ones willing to take the plunge into all kinds of new fandoms in the pursuit of good writing, than the people who are willing to make the extraordinary time commitment of creating websites that become the homes for hundreds, even thousands of stories, from dozens of fandoms. In this two-part series, we'll talk to several of these people, all of whom specialize in femslash fanfic. I'll speak to three in Part Two - Shadow, creator of the general femslash website "Realm of the Shadow"; Darkwoofe, creator of the site "Deviant Hearts", which specializes in animation; and TheNewHope, who created the LJ-community "Femslash_Today", a daily newsletter featuring all new femslash fic/art/videos on Livejournal.

On a special two-hour episode of Femslash4Fans Radio, I'll be talking about quite possibly the oldest, biggest femslash fandom to still rule the Internet today, the one fandom you CAN'T leave out of the discussion. "Xena: Warrior Princess" was more than just a hit spinoff from "Hercules: the Legendary Journeys", one of the highest-rated shows in syndication during its six-year run. It also spawned an enormous fan base in the lesbian community with its two female leads, Xena and Gabrielle; their extremely close relationship; and the "are-they-or-aren't-they" vibe that writers teased audiences with throughout. Did I say vibe? By the later seasons it was practically a NEON SIGN. The writers were clearly aware of what the fans were saying, and rather than freak out and slap them down, the staff clearly played to a point just short of their expectations. Lucy Lawless and Renee O'Connor have made contributions to the fandom beyond their acting as well. There's also the impact the fandom had on the fanfic genre in general. Terms like "altfic", "uberfic" and "femslash" were basically a direct result of Xena/Gabrielle fans. For that reason, I've expanded the show by a full sixty minutes. Well, that and the fact that my guests are three of the longest, most successful, most prolific writers in the fandom, all of whom went on to become published authors in their own right. Tonight's show will feature Melissa Good, author of the "Journey of Soulmates" series and the "Tropical Storm" fics deaturing Dar/Kerry; KG MacGregor, creator of uberfic pairings like Anna/Lily from the "Shaken" stories and Spencer/Ruth from "Malicious Pursuit"; and Linda Crist, aka Texbard, who wrote "The Bluest Eyes in Texas" featuring Kennedy/Carson, as well as the "Between the Lines" vignettes and "Galveston 1900: Swept Away".

The week before Thanksgiving, I planned to host a show without set topics or guests. The idea was that listeners could call in to discuss any femslash topic that was on their minds. Unfortunately, I became very sick that week and I was forced to cancel. This month, however, I'm bringing it back. Callers Decide. Is there a previous show you'd like to discuss? A topic for a future show? A great new story? Femslash on television? The LACK of femslash on television? RPFS? Original femslash programming on the web? Totally your call. Remember, passionate discourse on multiple topics from multiple callers will make this show great. No callers will make me do all the talking myself. Which would definitely not be "great". So be sure to bring your ideas with you this Thursday.

Last spring, listeners were "lucky" enough to hear me talk way too long about Disney's television series "Gargoyles", perhaps the most complex, three-dimensional, dramatic animated program to come out of their studio in its history. They got to hear me wax poetic about my own theories for the popularity of primary villainess Demona as a femslash character, while the people whose opinions mattered more were forced to relay their thoughts secondhand through a chat room. This time, however, the situation has been rectified. Much as I did last autumn with my second Kim Possible show, I'm kicking off 2010 with a second Gargoyles show where other, more successful and talented Gargoyles femslash authors are given the chance to sit down for an interview. We'll be talking with Maggie the Cat, one of two authors behind Gargoyles femslash pioneer Madame Destine, and Mooncat, writer of the erotic "Avatar Wars" series and co-writer of the unfinished masterpiece "To Protect and Serve".

Earlier this year F4F did a series of shows on nothing but femslash from current and former televised crime dramas. One TV show that wasn't covered during that series, however, may be the most popular one of all - Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. You don't need a manifesto (although you'll have no difficulty finding one) to see why so many people 'ship pairings involving Detective Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay). Strong, intelligent, absolutely beautiful, empathic, with her share of personal trauma, and not a whole lot of romantic history with other men. Oh, and did I mention the subtext? A group of fans, which has grown exponentially, almost immediately picked up on sexual tension between Olivia and ADA Alexandra Cabot (Stephanie March) throughout their working relationship. Even the show's writers themselves have acknowledged that they know the fans are out there, and that they've been willing to indulge them. And speaking of writers . . . we'll be talking to three talented femslash authors during tonight's show. To talk about their Alex/Olivia fics will be "Live Like You Were Dying" author D, and creator of the "Spark" trilogy Harriet. And representing the fans who enjoy the pairing of Olivia with Cabot's replacement, ADA Casey Novak (Diane Neal), will be "Damaged Justice" writer sHaYcH.

On this week's show I'll be discussing quite possibly the youngest, freshest femslash fan community ever to be discussed on F4F. Since premiering on FOX in the fall, "Glee" has proved to be a hit with youthful audiences across America - not to mention all those iTunes downloads and those Gleek videos on Youtube. A mixture of teacher's lounge backstabbing, high school angst, and Broadway-influenced musical numbers, Glee makes its quota in both comedy and drama. Teenage pregnancy, homosexuality, outcasts being "Slushied" by the bullies - think "Veronica Mars" with less crime and more singing. (And hey, unlike Cop Rock or Viva Laughlin, the singing actually DOESN'T break the fourth wall.) It has also made new faces like Lea Michele and Dianna Agron instantly famous on the Internet, and nowhere more so than among the Rachel/Quinn fans in the Glee online community. Even though the show has only been on for a few months, not counting one lonely episode at the tail end of American Idol earlier this year, multiple talented Rachel/Quinn authors (not to mention Santana/Brittany) have already surfaced. And I'll be talking with three of them - "Nothing Like Love to Pull You Up" and "Taking Chances" author Kben; writer of the ongoing "Honest Goodbyes" Sulkygeek; and Rachel/Quinn/Brittany/Santana . . . well, you get the idea . . . erotic author Grdnofevrythng.