This year for Rare Femslash, I matched on the pairing "Jane Eyre/Blanche Ingram." You may recall Blanche -- she was the rival love interest that Mr. Rochester brought to Thornfield, along with many other fine ladies and gentlemen, just so he could flirt with her right in front of Jane and so get Jane to confess her true feelings for him.

I grew up reading and rereading Jane Eyre. For years, I based my standards of emotional control on Jane's example. Yet not once in all those years did it occur to me to ship Jane and Blanche together. But when I saw the pairing in the tagset for Rare Femslash, I decided, "Challenge accepted" -- and then sure enough, I matched on it!

I didn't read any other works in this ship before writing my piece. Imagine my surprise when, a few days after posting, I finally checked out the tag and realized that there was only ONE OTHER FIC with this ship. Just ONE!!!

Dude. That is so rare.

ANYWAY! Here is what I came up with. I am pretty proud of this one!

To Gaze on Nature's Naked Loveliness
Author: ArtemisDart
Fandom: Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë
Ship: Jane Eyre/Blanche Ingram
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Wordcount: 9,333

Summary: Miss Blanche Ingram finds something of Jane's, and wants something else from her in exchange.

The summary could be better... I spent all my points coming up with the plot, Brontë-esque prose, and literary references, haha!

So far, my recipient hasn't kudosed or commented, but three other people have! This is always going to be a rare, raaaaaaare ship for people to search up, so I'd be surprised if this fic hits ten kudos in the next year. Still, I am personally proud of it, and that's what matters.

Authors have been revealed, so I can blog about the three things I created over the weekend for the Exchanges After Dark Birthday Bash. This is a very silly exchange that frees you up to post things even if they are bad in quality, or just use silly, nonsensical humor. I have a difficult time dialing in my humor to match the new generation's, but I did my best to provide things that might bring either a smile or a tear, depending!

The first is my main assignment. I matched on the request "Character with anachronistic self-conception of their gender identity and sexuality (OW)", and I knew this was going to be a lot of fun! I have THOUGHTS about neopronouns and esoteric, community-coined, hyper-specific labels...

Of the New God from the North, Exploratio Generis (Gender Exploration)
Author: ArtemisDart
Fandom: Original Work
Ship: Original Male Character(s) & Original Male Character(s)
Rating: General
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Wordcount: 3,395

Summary: Senator Lucius Caecilius Metellus Dalmaticus is having an annoying day.

And this foreign gladiator, with his strange declarations about his 'gender,' and his 'sexuality,' and his 'pronouns,' is not making it any easier.

This was a lot of fun to write. It was either going to be gladiators or pirates, but in the end, I decided that pirates are probably way more genderfluid / genderbendy than gladiators, so it would be more funny to use ancient Rome to do a bit of humor about gender stuff. My recipient says they love it, so I feel like this was a win!

There was an "extra theme" during the writing period, announced on the Discord, in which the mod proclaimed that "you" (meaning us writers) would also be required to give the mod eight works on the following themes:

• The Twa Sisters (murder ballad from Scotland)


• Oxygen (the eighth element)


• Kaya’aton’my (the eighth American Girls doll, from the Pawnee people of the Pacific Northwest


• Milkmaids (because of Eight Maids A-Milking)


• Neptune (the eighth planet)


• Paris (the city that hosted the eighth Olympics)


• Portuguese (the world's eighth most spoken language)


• Bottle (because La Botela, the Bottle, is card #8 in the Spanish 'Loteria')

Everyone on the Discord channel was trying to figure out how these things related to "eight." People got them all in short order, EXCEPT for the final one, Bottle. That was a tricky one that took over 12 hours for people to get! We were all guessing all sorts of random things, and none of them were right.

So, I worked up my guess (haha, not a serious guess) into the following piece of Paint art!

How is a Bottle Like the Number Eight???
Author: ArtemisDart
Fandom: Chinese History RPF
Ship: n/a
Rating: General
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Wordcount: 0

Summary: THE WORLD MUST KNOW THIS INFORMATION.

Finally, I looked through the requests to see if I could fill a treat or two. Two people had requested Kakashi/Iruka, one of my favorite ships, so I wrote something quick and fluffy and gave it to both of them (along with the event mod).

月下花香 - Flower Fragrance Beneath the Moon
Author: ArtemisDart
Fandom: Naruto (Anime & Manga)
Ship: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka
Rating: General
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Wordcount: 1,621

Summary: Iruka is worried when his husband Kakashi is late coming back from a mission.

Both of the people I wrote this for said they like it! It's very cute and fluffy with no plot to speak of. In only 1600 words, I didn't have room for much! But I'm happy to show a little glimpse of these two together and married and in love. Kakashi still has to run awful missions -- but at least he can come home to some comfort.

I had a great time in this exchange, and am already looking forward to next year's, which will be the ninth!

I fulfilled my assignment for the Exchanges After Dark Birthday Bash 2026, and I knocked out two treats as well!

I still have another day or two before the exchange reveals -- so I could do another one tomorrow, maybe. It depends! I didn't write for any of the things that I nominated to appear in the tagset, haha.

Looking forward to reveals for this on Tuesday!

After participating in the last 2 years of EAD Birthday Bash, I was sad that it didn't seem to be happening in 2026. But then -- my dreams came true, because Birthday Bash is back, baby!!!

I managed to get some tags into the tagset just 15 minutes before the deadline (whew!). And I just turned in my sign up!

Since this happens so fast... It's SUCH a fast exchange... I'll be doing this on Superbowl Sunday from my friends' house.

Yes, that means I have 3 exchange fics due 3 days in a row!

1) Rare Femslash Exchange - due tomorrow night, 2026-02-06, 9 pm Pacific time
2) Five Figure Fanwork Exchange - due Saturday 2026-02-07, 9 pm Pacific time
3) Exchanges After Dark Birthday Bash - due Sunday 2026-02-08, 6 pm Pacific time

Wow, why do I do this to myself?!?!?

It's Friday night, just before midnight, and I managed to get up the next chapter of Live Wire! It feels good to fulfill my self-imposed weekly obligation of updating a long-running story.

But I'm definitely not done. I really need to hit my pinch hit for the Five Figure Fanwork Exchange, as well as my assignment for the Rare Femslash Exchange.

I have a start on FFFX, and I have some ideas for my Rare Femslash fic. This weekend I want to get as much of those two things done as I possibly can -- they're both due very, very soon. Eek!!!

I didn't sign up for the Five Figure Fanwork Exchange this year... but one of the pinch hits that's up for grabs was itching my brain. So I just put my name in for it, even though I'm not signed up for the exchange overall.

If they give it to me, I'll have about 4 weeks to write a 10k+ work, in addition to what I need to produce for the Rare Femslash Exchange.

Fingers crossed!!! 😅

Although it was a couple of days delayed, my gift in the "A Ship Awakens Holiday Exchange" just appeared recently! So I'll take the opportunity to talk about both of the Gingerpilot fanfic gifts I received for the holidays.

The fic I received for the Holiday Huxchange, organized for members of the "Aw Shucks, Hux" Discord server, is a beautiful six-chapter, 26K word exploration of early poly between Poe, Hux, and Lieutenant Mitaka of the First Order. I absolutely adore it, and the writer, Taz_Eichel. She has such a sensitivity when it comes to describing the inner landscapes of the characters, especially the difficult or remote ones, like Hux. I felt that all three points of view were absolutely spot-on. I could see everything in my mind's eye; her descriptions are lush and colorful, while also meditative, showing me insights into the different people's characters and why they do what they do.

One thing I really enjoyed, and found both relatable and intensely touching, was the understated but clearly intense D/s relationship between Mitaka and Hux. I think Taz is excellent at showing how the sub really needs their Dom to be there for them and ensure they're psychologically safe. The obvious bond between Mitaka and Hux was so sweet and heartbreaking to witness. And then they're bringing in Poe for a little bit of fun -- but of course, Plot and Feelings interfere. Or do they!??!?!

The look on my face when I realized I was going to get both plot AND a hot threesome scene....!!! :-D

I could reread this fic again and again, and I plan to! So far I've only commented on four of the six chapters, but I try to do it justice whenever I have the time and energy for another comment. Her fic is one of the best fics I've ever received as a gift.

Instead of Stars
Author: Taz_Eichel
Fandom: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Ships: Armitage Hux/Dopheld Mitaka, Poe Dameron/Armitage Hux/Dopheld Mitaka
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Wordcount: 26,417

Summary: Life Day—a time for love, compassion, and damn good parties. At least according to Poe Dameron.

However, when someone from Mitaka’s past arrives to join in the festivities, everything starts to unravel, and his plans to make Hux feel some joy after months of misery quickly fall to pieces.

The second fic I've received isn't finished yet, so I can't judge it! I've bookmarked and subscribed and commented and kudosed, and I hope the author has the time and energy to return to it, because Chapter 1 was quite promising.

Let Me Play Among the Stars
Author: Anonymous (for now)
Fandom: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Ship: Poe Dameron/Armitage Hux
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Wordcount: ?? (unfinished)

Summary: Captain Poe Dameron is sent on a training mission to Oribas V...using public transportation. Poe hates flying anywhere when he's not at the controls. Plus side he has a hot fellow passenger to talk to. Minus side, the ship may not be up to the voyage.

It's no exaggeration to say that the holiday fanfics I received were among the highlights of my Christmas season. It's truly a gift to receive lovingly hand-crafted Star Wars porn, written to my exact tastes!

I am thrilled and lucky to be in this hobby and to have found such like-minded people!

I finished up my contribution for the A Ship Awakens Holiday Exchange, coming in slightly over 7800 words. It's silly and cute and I enjoy it!

My only obligation now is the Rare Femslash Exchange, due in early February. Whew! It's great to have all my holiday deadlines done and dusted!

Only a few days left until 2025 will be behind me. I'll do a stats wrap-up early in the next year, and I'm not too concerned about stats like word count and kudos -- it's all a bit silly, really.

I'm looking ahead to the next few challenges ahead of me. I signed up for the Rare Femslash Exchange, which I did last year. Back then, I wrote Haruno Sakura/Karin from Naruto, and I really like that story; I still get kudos on it regularly, and comments every so often, because Naruto the fandom is huge, so there are just a lot of people circulating through it looking for stories. I really wonder what I'll match on this time!

I'll have that. Also, I'll have the fic exchange for the A Ship Awakens Discord server. It's due January 7, but I'll have to get it done by the 1st at the latest since I'll be out of town from the 2nd to the 6th.

Beyond that -- just WIPs. I need and want to finish my WIPs!

If I'm going to edit either my Yuletide contribution or my (much longer) effort for the Holiday Huxchange, then I need to do it naaaaaaoooooo