Femsplained

You know how anxious you get when your homework is late? What if your homework is roughly a year late? So, we spend a lot of time bantering about other things before we FINALLY turn in our way overdue assignments. Luckily it's to each other, so it's no big deal!  This episode contains spoilers for Encanto, The Labyrinth: Coronation graphic novel, Black Sails   The video essay about Black Sails mentioned can be found here.   And PLEASE check out our friends over at Kill Every Monster!

Avalon has a bone to pick, and it's not just with Dillin, it's with the entire werewolf fandom she has apparently amassed. We will let you listen and decide who won this fight. Keep an eye out for the inevitable poll to confirm who won... Want some behind-the-scenes clips and snippets, early homework episodes from this season, and other neato stuff? subscribe to us on Patreon!  And please go on and listen to Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries, our beloved friends, and a fancy nerd podcast. CW for this episode: We mention the allegories drawn between some vampire and werewolf stories to things like SA, drug addiction, and other problematic tropes. Spoilers for this episode: In our nerd recap we talk about Legends of Vox Machina. Some modest spoilers within. Skip to 15:15 to bypass all of that!

In this episode, Diana basically recounts the entire plot of poorly received cinema release - turned cult classic Jennifer's Body to Avalon, so if you haven't seen it and care about spoilers, this episode can wait till after you've checked it out! We talk about why the movie was poorly received, and why we all need to make amends with Meghan Fox. But mostly, it's about how much of a fun romp this movie actually was. Chase this episode by listening to the one and only hit by Low Shoulder on Spotify.  And please, check out our friends at the NEW podcast Kill Every Monster! You will find a familiar femsplainer in the werewolf episode, but we truly love them all.  And if you want to support us, as well as see behind-the-scenes clips, and things from the cutting room floor, find us on Patreon!

This is a very special episode - our very first episode recording in person, the three of us all together in the same place! We took the opportunity to talk about a mutual breakdown of our feelings on gender identity during this episode, and it's a very honest deep dive into the ways we connect and differ at this point along our journey. Please note that we talk about bodies, presentation, and dysmorphia at points throughout the episode, and that our experiences are very much our own and may not remotely apply to others who share the Nonbinary label.  If you want to hear the FULL cut of the mansplain minute recorded live, and other behind the scenes clips, please head to our Patreon at patreon.com/femsplained. 

In this episode Avalon recaps the feeling of the Lord of the Rings cinematic trilogy for them growing up. Avalon truly has to explain Lord of the Rings to Diana in this episode, but please don't worry, it does quickly devolve into the longest run of FMK this podcast has ever seen. At times, it may be sacrilege so approach this episode with caution. Please do check out our Patreon for some exclusive behind the scenes from editing this episode, and more on the way! Also please check out our friends at Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries wherever you find your podcasts!

Oops, Diana fell in love with dating sims, and now it's everyone's problem. Diana spoils most of Dream Daddy and Dungeon Boyfriend in this episode, so beware! But if this leads to Avalon playing either, it will all be worth it. Please join us on Patreon if you haven't already, for behind the scenes editing of the show, covers of the theme song, and more! And don't forget to give a listen to our friends at Asians Represent podcast, and if you have not already, please vote for them at the ENnie Awards!!!

We are delighted to have the opportunity to chat with some of the members of Queer Arcana, a queer drag Dungeons & Dragons experience. We really got to speak about our love of fantasy, performing, and experimenting with identity through the lense of RPGs and performance. Please, please do yourself a favor and check out their show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/QueerArcana And if you love them as much as we did, please consider joining them on Patreon: www.patreon.com/DndqNL And of course please listen to our friends at the Broadswords everywhere you listen to podcasts!

In this episode, Avalon explains what Final Fantasy is to a bewildered Diana, who has never played any game in the series. Avalon focuses in on their favorite, game 10. Featuring a random honest heart-to-heart and a classic FMK.  Please come join us over on Patreon now to hear a ...special cover of the Femsplained theme song (or to just support us), and feel free to shout out who you'd like to see come and guest on Femsplained next by hitting us up on twitter!

In this mutual episode, we take a big hop back to the last time we were truly happy, the Scholastic Book Fair. Which, thankfully, gave us a chance to talk about Animorphs again. Come on this memory lane trip, and also PLEASE check out our friends at Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries wherever you listen to podcasts!

In this episode Diana tells Avalon the entire plot of Black Sails, a Starz original series prequel to the story Treasure Island. Featuring a long discussion about strip clubs v. burlesque, and a shockingly small amount about Muppet Treasure Island!

In this episode, Avalon tells Diana about the tiny (but epic) fantasy series she grew up with (and is now revisiting) Redwall. Diana is pretty peeved that no one told her about it before now, frankly.    Join us on Patreon at patreon.com/femsplained and be sure to listen to the Broadswords podcast wherever you listen to podcasts

In this episode Avalon and Diana revisit the last few topics including DS:9, Adventure Time, and Dragon Age, plus diving into a LOT of rants about Stardew Valley, Ross Rifles, and a fight about birth stones. This episode has been live on our Patreon page for a month already, so if you want behind the scenes episodes and content please consider subscribing at patreon.com/femsplained! 

This week we were joined by the amazing Brenda (aka @batmanandsobbin) to talk about Detective Conan. This was a totally new topic for us and we are super stoked to check out the show. Don't worry, we also went off-topic to chat about knitting, fanfiction, and what our Pokemon names would sound like!  Please check out Brenda's other podcasts here: Secret Histories of nerd Mysteries:  fictionalitea      For those who decide to watch Detective Conan after this episode, Brenda has a little CW: Warning for the first episode, there is a pretty graphic accident on a rollercoaster.  It is the most graphic scene in the show and Crunchyroll has the censored cut of it (I believe).  If the anime is too much, check out the movies Phantom of Baker Street (very scifi), or Countdown to Heaven (it's kinda like murder mystery die-hard).  They have a recap of the story at the beginning of every movie

A callback to our episode with the awesome Bee Zelda, Diana finally tells Avalon about one of her favorite short anime, Kino's Journey, an episodic slice of life series. Avalon is NOT mad that we never talked about it before.  Please give us a listen, join us on Patreon.com/femsplained, and be sure to check out our friends and fellow nerds at BeholdHER podcast!  

This is a true episode of Femsplained in that the topic doesn't stay put for long. Avalon starts telling Diana about her favorite Manga series' from the late 90s and early 2000's, which quickly transitions into some swapping of embarrassing youth tales from that time. Give it a listen and let us know you answer to the important question - are you a Dave or are you a Buster?

We are joined this week by the incredible Bee Zelda of The Broadswords (which you will hear a little bit about in the beginning of this episode - Link Here) who is so knowledgeable of the vast and growing world of indie ttrpgs. In this episode they talk and share experiences about emotional games, combat games, and their desire to "hold hands with another robot and punch the moon." (We share that desire, Bee).  Please give a listen and if you have not already - go follow Bee and the rest of the Broadswords! 

Diana felt some nostalgia this week and dove into SNICK, the "late" line up on Saturday nights for Nickelodeon fans in the 90s. Please come join us on Patreon for behind the scenes episodes and PLEASE listen to Asians Represent wherever podcasts are found. 

This episode is live for all now, but has been available to Patreon subscribers for a whole month! In this homework episode, we revisit iHunt, Stardew Valley, LonelyGirl15, and our Disney PvP. Also, this is a very rare night-recording of Femsplained, so we are accompanied by some Adult Beverages while recording. To join in on Patreon and get exclusives, go to Patreon.com/femsplained.   

Some of our listeners MIGHT realize that we've done an episode about Dragon Age before, in the early days of the podcast. But this felt like the right time for a redo. Diana summarizes the series, highlights some of her favorite moments and characters, and shares hopes for the future games. Francis's reaction is predictable!  And please go give a listen to our friends at Asians Represent at  http://oneshotpodcast.com/interview-discussion/asians-represent/

Avalon 'splains Adventure Time, the animated series, to Diana, and both of us immediately start shopping for cosplay materials.  Thank you again to our amazing Patreon Patrons! And please go check out BeholdHer Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts!

We were blessed with the presence of Samwise on this episode! And it was a wonderful, full-blown nerd-out. Sam was kind enough to take us on a real deep dive of their favorite Star Trek iteration and for Avalon and Diana as complete newbies, it was a delight to listen to. Please enjoy and beware, this episode is one giant spoiler for DS9.  Please also go and check out our friends at Asian's Represent Podcast here!

Introducing our new format for mutual Femsplained episodes: the Femsplained Versus, where Diana and Avalon pick their favorite in a certain category of fandom and duke it out to defend their choice. In our flagship episode of this experiment, we are starting with our favorite Disney flicks from before the Pixar era.    Also please go check out our friends over at Chaotic Creations wherever podcasts are found! 

This weeks episode, Diana absolutely outs herself in an unflattering fashion and deep dives into the web show phenomenon that is LonelyGirl15. Please give this a listen and let it take you back to that scary time in internet content. This episode contains mild spoilers for the recent Critical Role arcs. Also, check out our friends at Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries wherever podcasts are found!  

This week, it's Avalon's time to Femsplain and she's going with Stardew Valley, the inventory management game that let's you get married, and more importantly, name your chickens. But this week includes even more rambling than usual, so be ready for Wonder Woman 1984 spoilers, talk of other cottage core indie games, and of course, the uwu Diana owes everyone who followed us on twitter.  Don't forget, we now have a Patreon where you can support us directly and get extra content! https://www.patreon.com/Femsplained  And please check out our friends over at Behold Her podcast as well! https://www.patreon.com/beholdher 

We are so excited to be joined by Olivia and Filamena about their incredible RPG, iHunt. iHunt, as they describe, is like uber meets Buffy, and so it was right up our alley to chat about. Please take a moment to go and check out iHunt and get updates about their upcoming zines and projects at https://www.patreon.com/machineage    Note: this episode, unfortunately, had a few audio hiccups, which we sincerely apologize for. 

SYKE! This is not a real episode of Femsplained. This is a super exciting announcement for the coming New Year! We now have a Patreon! Please consider checking out what we have going on there at https://www.patreon.com/Femsplained We wish you all the best in 2021! 

In the final episode of 2020, Avalon and Diana graciously invite Francis on to discuss his thoughts on Muppet Christmas Carol - and our episode, plus all three of us talk about our nerdy highlights from the year including favorite video games, rpgs, and more. 

In this episode, after Diana airs her Dragon Age-related grievances, we talk about our mutual love of the Muppet remake of a Christmas Carol, including all the ways it is disturbing and heartwarming. Featuring the longest ever Mansplain Minute and a super hesitant game of FMK.    Thank you to everyone who came out to support our 50th episode celebration and fundraiser! We raised $1,115.00 for Fair Fight Action!

Note: episode contains very mild spoilers for the series finale of Supernatural that you probably already saw because the internet really dropped the ball. We are joined this week by the lovely and talented Nuance Vivian of Fast Times at D&D High She has joined us to talk about her experiences with the accessibility in LARP events - and sometimes lack thereof. Between the seriousness, we also get to talk about N7 Day, reminisce about early childhood cartoons and how gay they made us, and more! Please check out more from Nuance at @shadowravyn  

This week we are so excited to have Blythe, of the Damsels of Dorkington, on to guest with us and share her experiences in her burgeoning new adventures as a Voice Actor! Blythe was one of the first friends we made when we began podcasting ourselves and so this was an inevitable collaboration.  

A new episode of Femsplained is here in time for Halloween! Avalon and Diana talk about their favorite things about Halloweens past and present and try to unlock some of the odd nostalgic mysteries of the holiday.

Yay! It's a homework episode! We have come together to recap our experiences with Spiritfarer, Kingdom Hearts, True Blood, and Closed Captions and it's a mix of some serious insight and giggling over cartoon raccoons. Please hang with us through the weird ASMR beginning we didn't mean it, I swear. 

In this episode, we welcome our second-ever guest Femsplainer, Celeste, who shares with us some of the information she studied while writing her dissertation on closed captioning in pornography! As expected, the subject matter gets a little spicy, but also super enlightening!

Very mild and gentle spoilers may be in this episode! Diana hurt her shoulder and stayed in bed playing Spiritfarer for 3 days straight, falling in love with a new video game for the first time in ages - now she finally has the opportunity to gab about it! Yes, there is a slightly hesitant game of FMK att the end, and we even snuck in a few moments of truth and honesty. Let us know if you have played this "cozy management game about death."

In this episode, Avalon Femsplains the absolute anomaly that is the Kingdom Hearts franchise to Diana, who has never heard of such a thing. They discuss the game through its evolution, its inherent fanfictionability, and the general puzzling nature of its existence. 

CW for this episode, we discuss the plot of true blood which includes references to (but no descriptions of) sexual assault.  And this episode is almost as long, as we attempt to tackle them all. Largely discussing some of our grievances with the show, like the absolute abuse of Tara and Lafayette, the supernatural shark-jumping, and the series finale's horrific ending, we also discuss some of the novel things about the show, like the first two seasons and Eric Northman's time as a Himbo.    The tea Diana mentions in the beginning is Dryad tea found here!

It's the return of the Homework episodes! Over the last few Femsplaineds, we've talked about the being outside simulator, Animal Crossing: New Horizons; The epic walking book series, the Wheel of Time; Diana's first-ever published RPG, Neverland: the Impossible Island; and the art of Live Action Role Play. In this episode, we recap the things we've looked into on these topics since the previous episodes were recorded, and happily even peer into what listeners have shared with us too! In this episode Diana mentions the lovely and talented YouTubers: MoMo O'Brien Azrai UhOhBurns  and our lovely previous guest Bree

This episode of Femsplained features our first EVER guest Femsplainer!!!! And we sure did start with someone effortless to talk to. Bree, creator of the Here To Stay merch line that directly supports people of color in their nerdy creative endeavors, as well as LARPer, costumer, gamer, and artist, joins us to explain the world of Live Action Role Play. They also share some fun stories, tips on trying the hobby out, and tells us all about her favorite character, Solstice.   

In this episode of Femsplained, Avalon interviews Diana about the process of publishing Neverland: The Impossible Island, including the perils of trying to navigate the RPG scene as a first time publisher. We talk about consulting, kickstarters, art, and playtesting, but don't worry, we also talk a lot about sexy Captain Hook, and play a pretty solid game of "Diana finding loopholes in FMK".  Follow the Neverland RPG artists at @toughtinkart, @anumationart, and @Glimmeron. And get a copy of Neverland on DriveThruRPG!

This week's episode of Femsplained is an Avalon-splain,  where she takes me down the rabbit hole about an old favorite fantasy series - Wheel of Time. This is a true deep dive that will likely get us a swarm of angry fans but as always, we had a great time. If, like Diana, you never heard of this series, don't worry! We also briefly mention Animorphs, talk about the incredible new podcast Diana is hooked on, "Fast Times at DnD High", and yell about people not being gay enough. 

This is one of the two new episodes we recorded prior to the COVID - 19 pandemic. We mention convention-going and otherwise seem carefree, and that's why. Please keep wearing your masks, stay quarantined, and stay safe. Some audio issues aside, this episode is full of the usual jolly things, like playing FMK with horrifying pokemon, Diana's over-pronunciation of the word "sword", and Francis pretending this is not his favorite game ever.

Femsplained is back, with a lot to discuss, a lot of new updates, and a few backlogged episodes from the days before COVID - 19. This episode however, is freshly recorded and about our reflections of the phenomenon that was the latest Animal Crossing release. Check out our website and let us know what you think!

In the second episode in our Whedon Wars series, Avalon is up to bat for Buffy the Vampire Slayer being Joss' best work.  Although her vote may not be as controversial as Diana's vote for Dollhouse, she still has to weave through some of the shows problematic - and confusing - points.  Don't worry, we still play a way too long game of FMK at the end, and spend roughly the first 30 minutes discussing our eyebrows.  Don't miss this episode, and watch out for the official Whedon Wars polls to cast your vote!

This is the first episode in our Whedon Wars/Joss Madness series where Avalon and I will pit our favorite Joss Whedon Creations up against each other for YOU to vote on!  This one is in favor of Dollhouse, which Diana bravely swears is Joss' best work.  This episode is spoiler heavy!  Listen and tell us what you think of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse!  

This week Avalon takes a turn Femsplaining her relationship to the Power Puff Girls series.  Diana somehow made it 32 years without seeing a single episode of this show so this is a real learning experience.  Also featured in this episode are: Queer Icons, Diana's new business endeavor, Avalon's relationship to a Web 2k message board, and the perils of High School social order.  

Avalon is DONE with school and Diana is done Convention planning, so Femsplained is back to a more regular schedule!  The return is one of Diana's favorite childhood topics - the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise from the 1990's!  There's talk of the old, talk of the new, and talk of the not-to-be-mentioned movie, as well as some colorful biological discussion, the merits of socialism, and a game of Spoon/Fork/Knife inspired by Ginny Di!

We're finally back, with Avalon femsplaining Season 8, Episode 1 of Game of Thrones and NOTHING ELSE.   We talk about the nerd culture vacuum, Gilmore Girls, and when incest is or is not okay.  But mostly we play FMK with all your favorite GoT characters!  Also, check out our new friends over at World Stealers!  

Femsplained has been a podcast for one whole calendar year!!!  We are celebrating our anniversary with a little metapodcasting, a podcast about podcasts if you will.  This is truly our silliest episode, and though there is a topic...really this episode is just us Jizzing our Jeans about everything we love, including this podcast.   Included inside: Critical Role, Sailor Moon, Outlaw Star, The death of the Homework Episodes, Encounter Roleplay, #TwitchGoals, the DAMSELS OF DORKINGTON, a special interlude from Francis' Trivia Night... And at the end of this marathoncast, the whole family unites including Francis for a special tipsy goof-off which features: 2000's emo rock band drama, hating Long Island, Loving Splish Splash, and as always, a good game of Fuck, Marry, Kill.

In the 30th episode of Femsplained, Avalon goes off about the first two Harry Potter books and the obsession she holds for the series.  But if you were worried for even a second that this podcast stayed on track, calm down.  We also talk about world famous Furry, C.S. Lewis, bad haircuts, Avalon's guilt over Hufflepuuff-gate, and whether or not 25% of the world's population of children are truly evil.  

The latest episode is a mutual fandom nerd-out that's full of as many tangents as there are new generations of Pokemon!  And while the main focus of the episode is of course about the series, game, and card collectible we all know and love, you will also be blessed by the following:A reluctant argument over the pronunciation of GIF Diana's loathing for Magic the Gathering Sonic the Hedgehog Avalon learning about the dark tale of 2-Gether, and other nostalgic boy band talk And of course, would it be an episode of Femsplained if there was no dark conversation about who is or isn't bonable?  Not even the Pokemon universe is safe.  

You've probably never considered that somewhere out there, an adult human being could ramble on excitedly about Peter Pan for hours on end.  Well, it would shock you how much of this episode had to be trimmed down, because Diana is precisely that adult human being.  But don't worry!  We also talk about other, more interesting topics to help you get through this episode!  Like Horoscopes, The Craft, Jumanji, Hogwarts Houses, and Avalon's namesake!  But mostly, this is the deep dive you never asked for, with love from Diana to JM Barrie.