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!
