by rory midhani
After SCOTUS’ marriage equality ruling, Carmilla co-creator Ellen Simpson asked me to do a Fan Fiction Friday round-up of historical femslash stories to celebrate how far we’ve come. Obviously, that was an awesome idea. And obviously, y’all pointed me to some of the best stories I’ve ever read. Wild West! Wars! Knights! Princesses! Nuns! Here are ten of my favorites, from Bering and Wells to Brittany and Santana to Paige and Emily (and beyond!).
Soon by apparitionism
Pairing: Myka Bering and H.G. Wells, Warehouse 13
Plot: 1950s CIA Warehouse 13 AU!
Myka’s first task on her new project is not new at all, for Helena Wells hands her a box that itself contains the flat boxes that signify reels of tape and asks her to go through them as quickly as possible, listening for any mention of either of two words: “bluebird” and “artichoke.”
“I’m pretty sure ‘artichoke’ in Russian is just ‘artichoke’ said with a Russian accent,” Myka says. “Depending on the case.”
“I suppose it should be straightforward enough to recognize, then?” Helena Wells says. “And ‘bluebird’… you may hear it in English as well.”
“Is it birds in general? Does the bird have to be blue? What is this about?”
And she is told, “The bird does have to be blue. And as to what this is about… I don’t want to prejudice you by suggesting any context in which you might encounter these words.”
Myka looks at edges of the tape boxes. They are “SECRET,” but not “TOP SECRET.” Nor are they especially recent; some date back to 1948. “This is a lot of tape,” Myka says. She is not trying to make excuses before the fact, but there are at least thirty reels here. “I can speed it up, but not too much if I’m listening for individual words. Do you need it finished today?” She cannot possibly finish today, not even if “today” extends all the way to midnight. But Helena Wells works in Operations in some capacity, and people who work in Operations think they have only to command, and the laws of space and time will contort themselves accordingly.
Wildflowers by XenaLives
Pairing: Paige McCullers and Emily Fields, Pretty Little Liars
Plot: Paily Wild West AU!
Length: 46,000 words
Paige McCullers poked a stick at the smoldering fire while she sipped at the strong, bitter coffee in the battered tin cup. She looked up at the sun through the trees and squinted at it’s position. It was still early. She felt she should be getting on. Cheyenne was only an hours ride and she could get a proper meal, a bed and a much needed hot bath but somehow she just couldn’t get herself to move on from this spot just yet.
She had been days on the road from Greeley, Colorado and as she neared Cheyenne she found this little oasis near Crow Creek. A grove of trees protecting the ground from the summer’s brutal heat. The area was awash with vegetation and wildlife and the creek burbled nearby, the water making the air smell sweet and refreshing. Something about this place made her feel happy and safe and she wanted to stay just a little bit longer.
Her white and black Appaloosa stallion, Hank, grazed happily on the sweet creek fed grass a few yards away. She looked over to him and saw the moment he heard the rider coming. His big head lifted and his ears flicked at sounds she couldn’t yet hear. His hearing was uncanny, even for a horse, and she knew she had some time. She threw her coffee in the embers of the fire and kicked dirt over it as the wood hissed and popped.
Follow/FavThe Knife Thrower’s Daughter by themostrandomfandom
Pairing: Brittany S. Pierce and Santana Lopez, Glee
Plot: Santana joins a circus in the late 1800s and falls in love with Brittany.
Length: 476,070
The girl looks at Santana again, wearing the same curious expression as before. She quirks her head to one side and squints at Santana through the sunlight, taking in Santana from every angle.
“I don’t know why,” she admits. Then, suddenly, “I’m Brittany.”
Santana has never met anyone called by that name before or even read about anyone called by that name in any of her books, but somehow she finds that it fits the girl—Brittany—in such a way that she can’t imagine her having a more common name at all.
“I’m Santana,” Santana returns, breathless, though she can’t say why.
Brittany offers Santana her first genuine smile, pretty primrose lips lifting at the corners. “That’s a pretty name,” she says artlessly. She has a wonderfully plain way of talking, like everything she says is somehow just so.
“Thank you,” Santana replies, heat rising to her cheeks.
(She suddenly wishes that she had thought to tell Brittany that her name was pretty when she first heard it, too.)
“You shouldn’t let them bother you, you know,” Brittany says, as if picking up from a previous conversation.
Santana doesn’t answer because she doesn’t understand. Instead, she waits for Brittany to explain what she means, trusting that Brittany will indeed do so. Sure enough, Brittany draws a breath and looks up and away for a second, like a schoolchild recalling a recitation so that she might perform it for her headmaster. When she speaks next, she does so quickly, almost breathless.
Accidental Tourist by gainesm
Pairing: Myka Bering and H.G. Wells
Plot: Myka and Pete have a time travel mishap that lands Myka in the body of Helena’s first lady love in 1893, Quantum Leap-style.
Length: 96,000 words
Helena reached for a screwdriver and rubbed her nose with the back of her forearm. More dirt streaked across her nose and Myka stifled a laugh. Helena looked up conscious she was being watched. “What?” she said with genuine curiosity. Myka gave her a slight headshake and a restrained smirk. When Helena flashed a protesting look, Myka reflected provocative defiance. Helena sat back on her haunches and studied her face. She narrowed her eyes playfully before speaking. “Hmm… Hair twirling, silly grin, eyes sparkling… what exactly is on your mind at the moment, Agent Bering?” The shocked expression her question elicited pleased her immensely and she noted the red flush as it traveled to Myka’s cheeks. Interesting, she thought and smiled to herself before ducking back into the machine.
Myka shifted uncomfortably in her chair. She was reminded of the extraordinarily intimate occasion they shared following their last encounter with Walter Sykes. Standing in her room with Helena – alone for the first time after such a harrowing encounter – and looking at the woman who had just saved her life, she had been overcome with emotion and nearly kissed her. Helena, to her credit, did not push the moment or question her retreat. Myka’s eyes blinked slowly as she thought of that experience. She could remember her heart trying to beat through her chest and the desire, no the need, she felt rise within her. Closeness. That was all she had wanted.
White Shadows by Good Afternoon
Pairing: Brittany S. Pierce and Santana Lopez, Glee
Plot: Brittana Civil War AU (that’s also kind of Mulan-ish!)
Length: 316,000 words
But she knows it’s a lie, even before it leaves her mouth.
They can’t be all right. Not if he leaves.
Not with Emily so sick she can barely lift a cup to her mouth.
It’s when seeing her father tending so effortlessly to Emily that she realizes there is only one solution to their problem. Late that night, long after her father’s frets finally wear him down and sleep overtakes his fatigued body, Brittany slips from the bed. She dresses quickly, sure that if she were to pause long enough she’d throw all her courage out the window and crawl back under the warmth her father’s covers provide. But she reminds herself she is doing this for him, so that Emily can have the best beside her. The one who is sure not to fail her… not to forget.
So they can be all right in the end.
With a heavy heart and tears burning in her eyes she unclasps her mother’s locket from around her neck, laying the necklace beside her father’s sleeping form.
“Forgive me,” she whispers before standing tall once more and tucking his draft letter deep within the breast pocket of his old militia coat buttoned neatly up her torso.
Come that morning the 106th Ohio Infantry has enlisted Bret Pierce as their dispatch carrier.
Calamity Jane Meets Dr Isles, Medicine Woman JoBethMegAmy
Pairing: Jane Rizzoli & Maura Isles, Rizzoli & Isles
Plot: It’s a Rizzles Wild West AU! (And there’s a sequel!)
Length: 288,000 words
“Calamity” Jane Rizzoli had a voice like sin.
If she spoke your name with it, God have mercy on you: whether she was angry with you or not, it would take legions of self-control to keep yourself from falling to the floor at the sound of it. For many an unlucky soul, Jane’s voice was the last sound to ever pass through their ears. It was deep, it was rough, it was sensual. When you heard that voice, you knew you were encountering a woman who had really experienced life—really swept into each corner of it, exploring every nook and cranny she could, and never resting for a second. A new mountain to be climbed? Jane was on it. A new lake to be explored? Jane was in it. A wild animal taking out your cattle? Jane would be wearing its hide by the next day.
In short, she was not a person to be reckoned with. If you were fortunate enough to consider her an ally, she’d sooner take her own life than betray you. But her list of friends was short, because most people she met had heard of her reputation with a gun and were wary of her alleged trigger-happy finger. She rarely seemed to smile so much as smirk, and then of course there was the fact that she simply was unlike any other woman most civilized people had ever met.
Another reason her friends numbered so few was because Jane rarely stayed in the same place longer than a few months. She traveled from town to town with one sidekick, the only person she would really trust with her life. But settle down? Never. Hers was a spirit that could not broken. Hers was a lifestyle that could never be tamed. Hers was a passion that could never be quelled.
Hers was a life Maura Isles couldn’t ever have imagined in even her wildest dreams.
We’ll keep on dreaming as long as we can by savvyliterate
Pairing: Madame Vastra and Jenny, Doctor Who
Plot: “How would you like to help me plan the wedding of a Silurian who was awaken by the expansion of the London Underground and a match girl who became her maid?”
Length: 4,700 words
“How would you like to help me plan the wedding of a Silurian who was awaken by the expansion of the London Underground and a match girl who became her maid?”
Amy arched her eyebrows as she took a healthy sip of wine, then raised her glass to her only child. “I’m in.”
“Excellent.” River tapped the item off the to-do list displayed on her tablet and clinked her glass against her mother’s.
“Silurian? The one who helped the Doctor rescue us … well, me I suppose, from Demon’s Run?”
“Yes,” River confirmed, pleased that Amy was now to the point where she could reference Demon’s Run at all. She never talked about it in the early days, and it was only after her and Rory’s temporary separation because of her fertility issues that she could begin to bring it up. River had chosen this version of her mother on purpose, one who had braved the Dalek asylum. “Vastra and Jenny. They decided to marry when they hijacked Clément Adair’s steam-powered aircraft in France to help defeat a rogue band of Ice Warriors.” River took another sip of wine. “I heard it was quite romantic.”
“Were you and the Doctor there?”
A hint of a smile tugged at River’s lips, and her pupils dilated slightly as she became lost in her memories for a few seconds. She winked at Amy and took a bite of salad.
“Right.” Amy didn’t even want to speculate on what those two were doing. “Adding that to the very long list of things about you and the Doctor I’ll never discuss around Rory. So, when is the wedding?”
The Abbey by mrsdaphnefielding
Pairing: Myka Bering and H.G. Wells
Plot: Medieval Warehouse 13 AU
Length: 13,550 words
“Sshh.” Myka leans over the knight, her movements gentle. “You must rest.”
Dark eyes blink open, glossy and slow with fever, but Myka still feels like crying at the sight of them. “Did I die?” Lady George whispers after a second of stunned silence.
A slight smile of relief tugs at Myka’s lips. “Not quite yet.”
“But surely this is heaven.” There it is, a bit of the reckless glint.
“Not yet.” Myka pulls her hand away when Claudius stirs on his cot across the room. “You will get there in due time.”
“That remains to be seen.” Lady’s George’s expression turns pained and Myka can’t tell whether it is due to the wound, or something else. “There is sin on my name.”
“And I do not believe that it will keep you out of heaven.” Myka’s voice is a whisper as she leans over to fix a bandage in place. “I’ve seen your sin,” she adds gently.
For a moment, Lady George seems startled, but then there is a dark fire in her gaze that makes Myka step back. “No, you haven’t.”
Heartwood by jerzeyredhead
Pairing: Brittany S. Pierce and Santana Lopez, Glee
Plot: Brittana WWII homefront AU.
Length: 100,000 words
antana walked into the bunkhouse and was awash in the smell of cedar. It was stark yet warm. A cast iron wood burning stove was the centerpiece of the room. Empty bunk beds were shoved against the far wall. An unmade bed with a jacket and pants pegged on the wall nearby occupied the south corner. Five made beds with pegs and empty shelves above and rough-hewn wood cubby hole storage below lined the east wall. Each had a wooden trunk at the foot of the bed. Oil lamp sconces dotted the walls, and a few wash basins sat in a narrow shelf along the west wall. Windows lined the east wall facing the clearing and sheltered by the deep eaves. One window on the north wall gave a view of the kitchen shack and large porch with long tables and benches. The south wall had one small window, but all Santana could see through it were trees, trees and more trees. Santana smelled the cedar and smiled. It reminded her of her blanket chest back home. She dropped her suitcase on top of the bed nearest the south corner. Mercedes, Tina, Rachel and Quinn dropped their suitcases on the empty bed successively, Quinn ended up nearest the door.
“Welcome home,” Brittany greeted the group. “Now that you know where you’re sleeping, let me show you where you’re washing.”
“What are all those bunk beds doing in the corner?” Rachel asked.
“We were using them, then our boys went off to fight, so then the other ladies were going to use them, but they didn’t last a week here, and you’re just five, so…yep. There they are,” Brittany explained. “Follow me.”
The Monster Princess by GleefullyWicked
Pairing: Laura Hollis/Carmilla Karnstein, Carmilla
Plot: Carmilla fairytale AU.
Length: 39,000 words
“Have you considered my proposal?” The queen of Karnstein asked, just a few months after her husband’s funeral. King Frederick paced his study, where the two of them convened.
“I have.” He admitted. The queen sat in a lounge chair and waited for him to go on, but he didn’t.
“And your position on the matter?” She prodded.
The king stopped. “I don’t wish to take away my daughter’s chance at a happy marriage before she is even able to take steady steps on her own.” He explained as he looked into the fireplace.
“And what says that Laura and Carmilla won’t be perfectly happy together?” The queen inquired.
“They have no choice!” The king turned to meet the queen’s eyes. “My wife made me promise that I would protect Laura, and-”
“Frederick, what better way to protect your daughter than to marry her to the most eligible person in ten kingdoms? Better my daughter than some duke thirty years her senior. Besides, was your marriage to your wife not arranged?” The queen was determined to get what she wanted, no matter what it may take.
The king’s fists clenched at his sides at the mention of his wife in that light. “That was different. We were grown.” He said through his teeth.
“Just as Laura and Carmilla will be. I’m of course not suggesting that they get married anytime soon.”
As always, tell me what I missed in the comments! I’ve got a six-hour flight on Monday; I’ve got nothing but time to read!
So much Bering and Wells I love it. I’ve been a fan of the pairing for ages but only started writing it recently, and I’m always on the lookout for more femslash involving the Warehouse ladies. The rest of this week’s fics look awesome also.
I concur, I love Bering-Wells.
They’re my absolute favorite. I miss them so much!
So do I. I even might be in the possession of a B&W playlist…
I now really want to know about this Bering and Wells playlist.
Also, thanks for these, Heather, these look great and so much Bering and Wells has made my day! They were my favourites too.
Are you very sure about this? Because I just listened into it and am already crying. Again.Ungh.
Okay:
Chocolate by One Eskimo, season 2, The “You Can Owe Me”, Grappler Scene
Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks by The National, season 2, Myka leaves the Warehouse
So Easily by Kathryn Calder End of Season 3, ep 2, I told you this wasn’t easy!!And it’s getting worse! Season 3, y’all!
Moving Pictures Silent Films by The Great Lake Swimmers, Season 3, Episode 5, Myka and H.G. talk at the end of the episode. You know, before she goes back into the ball and everything? I’m not crying,you’re crying.
Now, there are four versions of “Running Up That Hill” none of which were,thankfully, sung by Kate Bush for the season three finale:
The artists are:
Placebo: The coin scene
Jimmy Jorgensen:Jinx at the airport..ungh
Kiki and Herb
Track and Field HG regains her memory
Atlantis by Ellie Goulding Season 4, Instinct, when Myka leaves HG
I also have the Cinematic Orchestra floating around here in a Warehouse 13 context and “As We Were” by Whisper in the Noise on that list because there was an awesome fanvid featuring that song.
On a final note:
Of course I watched some fanvids while writing this and invariably stumbled across MacPherson.
MacPherson was played by Roger Rees, who passed away yesterday at the age of 71.
A British actor who was sharing a love story so epic with his husband they got a piece in the New Yorker dedicated to them in 2012: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/06/04/backstory-2
R.I.P.
ME TOO. me tooooooooooooo.
This is pretty much one of the best titles an article can have and it makes me sad that I don’t watch live action TV enough. Still totally reading that Britanna circus AU.
If you’re into Naomi and Emily from Skins, I can give you a circus fic for them too. It’s basically erotica written by a real trapeze person!
Yes please! Actually I’d like to see the author’s Ao3/tumblr/wherever they post in general anyway because that sounds super interesting.
This is a thing I would also be very interested in!
OMG I am so excited to read everything on this list AHHHH! historical AUs are some of my very favorites to read. I think you don’t get thanked enough for running this Week-Saving Gift of a column, so THANK YOU HEATHER, YOU ARE THE QUEEN OF THE FANFIC UNIVERSE
also the Brittana fandom goes HARD, oh my god? you literally just recced us 792,070 words of Brittana (which is roughly THREE TIMES AS LONG AS THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX in word-amount), not to mention all of the other fics mentioned here.
Brittana and Faberry writers have written more fic than all other fic in the world combined, I think!
THAT’S TRUE. I am often blown away by the dedication (and fic quality!!!) of the Brittana/Faberry fandoms! (and also the more niche Santana-Rachel fandom, which produced one of my favorite series of all time, Eyes Closed to Fingers Crossed, which I rec constantly to every person even remotely interested in reading Glee fic.)
My favourite pairing is prob Wells/Bering and thanks so much for posting these fics they’re perf :P
Is that your cat in your avatar pic! I have an orange guy too!
https://instagram.com/p/4N5MgGmZeb
Excellent theme, I probs watched “I, the worst of all” so many times I should know spanish better now, even though it’s from the dark ages with the tragic endings.
dropping everything to read the paily wild wild west one immediately!!
You won’t be disappointed! I read all the parts and it’s definitely one of my favorite series.
just watched Carmilla recently, after being told I look like LaFontaigne, it’s like a fan fiction all to itself.
I miss Lost Girl fem fictions.
That Paige pic! Good gravy, I miss her.
The Carmilla and Paily ones I have read and are some of my favorite. Like really, I don’t know what it is that I love about these kinds of fics SO MUCH (probably because I’m not a big history buff so I can comfortably read this kind of thing without really noticing inaccuracies? who knows) and I think especially with all the Paily ones written by that same author, I feel like I’m experiencing what all those middle age women experience when they read dime store romance novels and it makes me feel weirdly connected to the world? Like, OHHH this that thing that they’re feeling! I get it now!
And that’s really the biggest thing about fanfiction for me, is that feeling of finally being in on all those experiences you’ve heard about in the hetero world. Because otherwise we don’t have a lot of places where we can see the people like us fistfighting a group of drunken no-teeth criminals outside a saloon or on the cattle run, or dashing swashbuckling pirates feared and loathed by all who cross them, or knights or princesses falling in love with other princesses and fanfiction is so rad because we see this complete lack of stories and go “I can do that” and just fucking write it without having to ask permission, and it’s just there and available for FREE for any little young gay that’s never been able to see themselves in these situations they’ve watched a thousand times growing up and I just have SO MANY FEELINGS ABOUT FANFICTION.
OMG!! Good Afternoon!
I don’t usually read Britanna, but now I must!
I loved,loved her Wicked stuff.
Who am I kidding: I cried like a two year old at four in the morning over “Not Quiet, Altogether There” and I am not the weepy type. I adore her writing.
And there are actually two B&W fics I haven’t yet read! *fistpump*
Very happy about this list!
BTW: Lamachine just finished her Root/Shaw Detective Noir piece, if you’ll ever have a Noir ff Friday. I sadly forgot to mention it for this list.
And if you ever have a “we’re rewriting this movie/show with our characters” list, there is this amazing rewrite of “Ladyhawke” Bering and Wells style, that I also failed to think of for this list. It’s rather swoonworthy.
Here,dear B&W Lovers if you need something to swoon over: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9148382/1/The-Hawk-And-The-Wolf
Ah, and I forgot to mention this Ancient Rome Swanqueen piece: Regina is a priestess, Emma is a gladiator: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9024028/1/Aut-Vincere-Aut-Mori
I’ll be in my bunk-reading.
Who do we have to petition to get Paige to come back in that full Western outfit situation this season…?
I’m still reeling over this gem right here:
Was Brittany not a used name in the 1800s?? i love how much you can learn from fan fiction lol
So excited to see “Soon” first on this list, because it is amazing! Everything by apparitionism is fantastic. Fantastic fantastic, even.
She is in the middle of re-editing and posting Soon to AO3 but is only up to Chapter 15 there.
Yes, fantastically fantastic fantastic!
I got kind of an embarrassingly obsessed with Soon while apparitionism was posting it tumblr, to be honest.
It just means a lot to me, for reasons I could say words about but never really fully explain? It was a hard few months for me around that time, and I avoided real life by diving headfirst into fiction, as you do. And while Soon started out for me as a great distraction, it also ended up pushing me right back into ‘real life’ because there is so much about that era I just didn’t have the first clue about.
Isn’t there a Paily fic set in the 1960s? Maybe it was (rumored to be) written by one of the PLL writers? Or did I make that whole situation up?
These are excellent suggestions, btw! Fan Fiction Fridays is always one of my favorite articles for the week. There is so much good stuff out there to explore! I especially appreciate stretching my boundaries outside of the fandoms that I am more well versed in (glee girls, Calzona, Swan Queen).
Mmm hmm! That is a real thing! It’s three books, total: http://www.amazon.com/Joseph-Dougherty/e/B002BLL0QO
YESSS!
Thank you, Heather. Your knowledge of all things PLL/Paige related will continues to astound.
In Vanderjesus, we trust.
Thank you Heather!
I’ve read pretty much all of these recs for my OTPs which makes me feel accomplished and a little embarrassed at the same time (but I’m trying this new thing were I don’t get ashamed about reading fanfic).
I love these sorts of fanfiction so I look forward to reading the ones of fandoms I’m not into.
Don’t be ashamed about reading ff!
Fanfic has the great virtue of being so freeform and crazily creative sometimes,that it makes the greatest and dorkiest nerdheart happy!
Autostraddle is my source for quality vetted femslash yes please <3
Also, if you want another theme suggestion Hogwarts AUs are my absolute favourite ever.
Especially because the pairing generally hate (but secretly love) each other, are in rival houses and are pretty much always on the quidditch team.
(I checked back to see if you’d done it yet and I’m 90% you haven’t but if you have, carry on)
this is a thing? :O Heather, future begging may occur… fair warning :D
COME BACK TO US, PAIGE :(
Yessssss thank lesbian Jesus!!!!
aka Heather.
Thanks for giving me something to do this weekend! Looks like tea and reading for me.
So excited by all the Brittana <3 really the only femslash pairing I read!
I didn’t know I needed a Wild West Paily fic until I saw this post, Paige in that outfit is everything.
Screw it, I’m going to link my (really) short PLL noir fan fic.
http://forums.afterellen.com/threads/pretty-little-liars-noir.6025/
Well I know what I’ll be doing tonight
I don’t know why queer arranged marriage AUs are one of my favorite fanfiction troupes ever but I can never resist. So I will definitely be checking out that Carmillla fic
Arranged marriage and fake-marriage are my two absolute fave fic tropes of all times. Especially when it’s with queer ladies.
HEATHER, OMG YOU INCLUDED SOON. THANK YOU HALLELUJAH ETC.
I have so many feelings about this.
I’ve been really hesitant to dip my toes in any non-WH13 stuff for the last couple years – even to go back to Rizzles or SVU, let alone embark on new adventures like PLL or Glee.
But the more I read here, the more I think it may be time to branch out…
Thanks for the recommendations! I’ll definitely check out the Doctor Who fic, as I’m not familiar with the other fandoms included.
If you find anymore Vastra/Jenny fic, let me know! I love them so much!
Vastra and Jenny – oh so many feels. Would love to see more of them in both fic and the show.
I check out fanfic fridays, end up reading way to much fanfic, then complain about how I have no time to do stuff. Oh well getting lost in the wild west with paily sounds more entertaining than vacuuming.
I have only read the title for this article but i had to come and immediately say:
MAY LESBIAN JESUS BLESS YOU HEATHER THIS IS EVERYTHING I DIDN’T KNOW I NEEDED IN MY LIFE/HEAD/HEART/(PANTS?)
@mcsgfh May lesbian Jesus bless us all!
A-women!
So I really like the idea of this series and stuff but my one complaint is the lack of Buffy fanfic. It’s totally a selfish thing as I only read Buffy fanfic and have little interest in Glee or the other TV shows that I’ve never seen.
Keep up the good work spreading slash fic round the Internet
@worm Will you email me and help me out with Buffy? My experience is so limited and I feel like the best fics exist outside of AO3 and FF.net. My email is: heatherannehogan at gmail
I’m just so glad, when I see things like this, that the internet exists.
I’m realizing I’ve never read a single Bering and Wells fic which is very strange considering I love them so much (I rewatched WH13 before they aired the last season and I was literally spending like 2 hours after it was done going “this has to happen. they HAVE to make this happen. there is no way they CAN’T make this happen with how they’ve built it up. there is no way they will make this happen because I KNOW they won’t make this happen but they HAVE TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN” and being so distraught because I knew they weren’t going to make it a real thing and go more into it BUT IT WAS BUILT UP SO PERFECTLY I WAS ANGRY THAT THEY WEREN’T GOING TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.)
I find this is a strange phenomenon that happens when a ship is based almost entirely off of chemistry between the actors as opposed to say the written dynamic of a pairing (and the endlessly interesting combinations thereof). It’s sort of like most ships to me are like peanut butter and jelly, or nutella and bananas. Like, I am so down to try any way a person can think to combine those two things. Nutella and bananas on toast, Nutella and bananas in a crepe, nutella and banana ice cream, Nutella and bananas in a smoothie, like damn no matter how you put it together I will eat that shit up.
The other type is like having a normalish food at some restaurant and because of whatever way they prepared it it comes out MAGICAL and like, you don’t think you can just make it at home or have it somewhere else and get the same result because it was just something about that singular experience that you know you can never replicate. It’s like going to dinner and ordering lasagna, and out of nowhere having your life changed by this order of lasagna that is somehow the most amazing lasagna you’ve ever tasted. You’re probably not about to go home and be like “I’m going to try making lasagna!” or go ordering lasagna from other places because you just KNOW it won’t be the same and you’ll end up disappointed.
Basically Bering and Wells is that magical lasagna.
Although all that being said I really want to start delving into that world of fic for them because I am almost certainly missing out on a bunch of stuff that I will probably totally love.
“Basically Bering and Wells is that magical lasagna.”
RT
Calamity Jane is seriously so good. The sequel is less good, but Calamity Jane is just on fire. What I especially like about it is how well it does describing Maura’s swooniness for Jane and articulating her confusion over whether she likes Jake (Jane’s male disguise) or Jane as a woman. I think it’s something so intense – the question of do I like butch women or do I like men or do I like both or WHAT IS HAPPENING. It feels really real and authentic and funny and the end.
ALSO if you combine Calamity Jane and the sequel, it’s longer than War and Peace. Just fyi. #mastersdegreeinfanfiction
I think I’ve never read an historical fanfiction (I prefer modern ones) but I don’t know what Carmilla and Laura did to me, I can’t stop reading fics about them. I. can’t. stop. It’s getting ridicolous, honestly. I’ll give at least theirs a chance.
What… WWII Homefront AU fic is a thing?! There goes my weekend, and I need to find more! I have a “Bomb Girls” shaped hole in my life right now.
(the carmilla fic is accidentally linking to the wrong thing)
Okay these are all lovely but “Audrey Can Wait” is the best Serena/Blair Gossip Girl femslash series I could ever have dreamed of. It involves Blair and Serena and a bathtub and there are lots of feelings. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3850948/1/Audrey-Can-Wait
So excited for that Brittana homefront fic, and all the Myka/H.G.! And so glad I finally figured out how to download fanfiction to my kindle cloud, so I can read it on my phone on the bus! :D
I’ve never mentioned this in the previous posts for Fan Fiction Friday, nor do I know precisely who decided to start doing this, but there is SUCH a need for it. I love fan fiction, particularly queer fan fiction (and good works of queer women lovin’ women in fan fiction are so difficult to find). Therefore, I just wanted to say how much I appreciate that you do this series. Okaythanksbye.
I’m mainly just commenting so I don’t forget to come back and read the Jenny/Vastra fanfic. They’re probably my favorite fictional couple and the fact that it also has Amy and River is just awesome.
So, thank you for bringing its existence to my attention.
Found the link for The Monster Princess
The Monster Princess
http://archiveofourown.org/works/2539880/chapters/5646569 … just in case that html link doesn’t work.
Thanks Heather :)
Hi! Author of The Monster Princess, here. Thanks for posting this, and thank you so much Heather for including my fic in this list.
I read 7 chapters when I couldn’t sleep last night and I love it so much! I made myself stop so I don’t catch up too quickly.
The Swan Princess was one of my favourite (non) Disney movie when I was younger. My siblings and I do a great re-enactment of “This is my idea”, best song ever.
I am so excited to see it reimagened with my OTP,not to mention its well written and the characterisation is great.
I’m almost finished with the next chapter, actually (a lot of stuff has happened recently and it’s a…shall we say difficult part to get right). I’m so glad you’re enjoying it.
YES YES YES YES YES YEA HOW DID I MISS THIS? I HAVE WASTED A WHOLE DAY OF MY LIFE WITHOUT THIS. (I’ve been working stupid hours, can you tell? I actually need to cry with joy right now.) YEEESSSSSZ
Fan Fic Friday is my fav on Autostraddle. Seeing all the other awesome nerds out there commenting provides me with some validation that I’m not alone in loving Fan Fic.
I always find this column entertaining.
Sorry to be so late to that game but in case anyone else is searching through old Fanfiction Friday posts for new fic…
This is Rule 63, meaning the characters are originally men but the writer made them (in this case cis) women for this AU, but it is one of THE most incredible historical femslash fics I’ve ever read so it belongs here I think: How the mouth changes its shape by breathedout
“Summary: 1955. Under the placid veneer of suburban playparks and middle-class conformity churns a hidden London: femmes and butches dancing close in basement bars; clandestine love between women. To Sherlock Holmes, struggling private detective and mistress of disguise, it’s a realm she renounced years before. To Johnnie Watson, daredevil ambulance driver turned auto mechanic, it’s become a little too familiar. But when someone is murdered in the washroom of the city’s most notorious lesbian club, the investigation will lead both women to reconsider their assumptions about themselves, each other, and the world in which they live.”
It’s so good!!! There are not enough butches on TV, tbh, so I looove it when fanfic can write that wrong for me, & omgggg the feelings these two have about each other.
Thank you, Heather, for compiling the rest of this list (& for all the femslash fridays!). After finishing the above story, I was bereft for more long, creative f/f & here it is!
omg thank you for this fic rec!
My favorite historical themed femslash story would have to be Antiquity Paily