Happy International Day of Femslash!
It's here! International Day of Femslash! And I have not finished my fic... *headdesk x infinity* The story I was working on for this has gotten a bit more out of control than I'd thought and I can't bear to cut it down when I love the characters so much. I was totally panicking that I hadn't finished it and almost in tears when I finally had to STOP and tell myself that it's just a day and it's just fanfic and it's not the end of the world as we know it if the story doesn't get posted today. Yes, it's disappointing and I feel like a bit of a failure, but que sera sera, am I right?
Here's an excerpt from the story though, so I'm not a total failure! It's just a rough draft and unbetaed so bear with me (girl!Sulu/girl!Chekov, this excerpt is totally G-rated)
The street was dark, but the neon lights advertising beer and sushi made it glow with an odd, almost buzzing glow. Hikaru felt self-conscious as she walked down the street, hands stuck in the pockets of her leather jacket, bare goose-bump covered legs in combat boots, and her shiny lavender dress covered in water spots and hanging limply. The rain had ruined Mariko's efforts on Hikaru's hair and she was pretty sure that the gunk Mariko had painted on her eyes was streaking down her face because of the rain. She looked ridiculous and she was freezing.
Drenched and shivering, she dug through her pockets for some cash, so that she could buy a cup of coffee and get out of the rain. She briefly considered returning to the reception, but quickly decided that spending the evening huddled on a wet street corner and developing hypothermia was preferable to her sister's flower-laden wedding reception and dance party.
With a triumphant "A-ha!" she pulled out a rumpled ten dollar bill from a forgotten pocket of her jacket and ducked into the a quiet looking all-night diner.
Hikaru shivered as the warm, greasy-smelling air hit her and jumped slightly when a girl in a pink striped uniform leaped out from behind the "Please Wait to be Seated" podium.
"Oh my, just look at you! You must be freezing. Come in, come in! Sit down! Do you want coffee or tea? We'll warm you right up." The girl looked at Hikaru with such concern that it made Hikaru nervous.
"Oh, um, I'm fine. Really. It's just raining."
"Of course it's raining," the girl agreed. Her reddish-gold curls created a crazy halo around her head and she had at least three different pens and pencils stuck in the riot of hair. Her eyes raked up and down Hikaru's drenched figure, taking in the melted make up, the black leather jacket and big boots, and the water-stained lavender dress hanging limply around her knobby knees and skinny legs. Hikaru suddenly found herself feeling terribly self-conscious.
"Okay, yeah, um, coffee, please," Hikaru mumbled, running her hand through her messy, short hair which was wet with rain and sticky with styling product.
"Yes, yes, coffee-come sit down!" The waitress gently grabbed Hikaru's arm and pulled her towards a big, empty booth. "Sit here-it's right next to the heater. We'll get you toasty warm in no time. I'll go get you some coffee." The girl looked at Hikaru with a concerned look, like she thought maybe Hikaru would run back out into the rain if she left her alone too long, but then bounded off to what was probably the kitchen.
Hikaru pulled her cold and clammy feet from her boots and pulled them up, tucking them under her in an effort to warm them up. She fiddled with the salt and pepper shakers and wondered if her ten dollars would be enough to buy her something to eat, as well.
A few minutes later, the girl came rushing back over to Hikaru's table, her curly hair spiraling in all directions. She spun a large tray onto the neighboring table before handing Hikaru a lumpy, hand-knitted, gray and pink cardigan sweater.
"Put this on, now. Let's try to dry that coat of yours out." Hikaru wordlessly removed her wet jacket and handed it to the girl, shivering as her damp shoulders hit the cool air and feeling goose-bumps break out across her entire body. The waitress gestured at the sweater, encouraging Hikaru to put it on, and Hikaru was too cold to argue. She couldn't help but think that the little mom and pop diner was a little overzealous on the customer service front.
"Now here, drink some coffee, warm up. Do you want something to eat? How about some breakfast? We serve breakfast all day and all night and it's much better than our lunch and dinners, to be honest. And you look like you could use some eggs and pancakes. How do you like your eggs? Scrambled? You've got the scrambled egg look."
Hikaru gaped at her, amazed at how quickly the girl spoke. She had some kind of accent, Eastern European or Russian or something, but her English was perfect and she spoke faster than anyone Hikaru had ever met.
"Would you rather have them fried?"
"Oh, um, no. I just, I don't really have enough cash for a full breakfast." Hikaru pulled out the rumpled ten dollar bill and smoothed it out on the table in front of her, feeling poor and stupid.
The waitress gave her an assessing look before responding in the same rapid-fire cadence as before, "Well, you are in luck, actually. That is exactly how much a full breakfast costs. Convenient, no? How do you like your eggs?"
"Scrambled?" Hikaru answered hesitantly. She was rewarded with an enormous smile that lit up the girl's face, scrunched up her light green eyes, and made her insane curls seem to vibrate with happiness.
"Yes, yes! I knew you had the scrambled egg look. I'll be right back." The waitress rushed off, leaving Hikaru staring after her, mesmerized by the girl's energy and the swish of the pink skirt and the lopsided bow of her apron.
ALSO FEMSLASH FIC RECS! YAY!
STAR TREK XI RECS
Staring at the Rude Girls by paytofay (Girl!Sulu/Girl!Chekov, NC-17)
Yes, yes I have recced this before, but I'm reccing it again because I love love love it and it was written for ME! *twirls* It's hot, sweet, and wonderful. Chekova is cute and sassy. Hikaru punches a guy and works in a motorcycle shop and never wears a bra. Jamie Kirk cameos in a grrrl!band. There is no bad here.
Dancing About Architecture by _beetle_ (Girl!Sulu/Girl!Chekov, Girl!Sulu/Girl!Kirk, other het and slash pairings, NC-17)
This is the fic that converted me to genderbent Sulu/Chekov. It's amazing! Lots of love and triangles and unrequited or seemingly unrequited pining and hot sex and strong women and powerful relationships and emotionally charged twists and turns. It has definitely not gotten as much love as it so richly deserves so please check it out and tell her how fantastic this is!
Find the Words by ms_chak (Gaila/Uhura, Spock/Uhura, NC-17, mentions of slavery)
She just polished this up and reposted it for today! YAY! It's so heart-wrenching and lovely. I fell in love with Gaila in this and Uhura is so wonderfully characterized. Such a beautiful emotional punch. Uhura's confusion about their relationship is so understandable and the post-Farragut reaction totally made me go all wibbly and shiny-eyed.
HARRY POTTER RECS
A Pair of Dull Scissors in the Yellow Light by lily_pearl (Millicent Bulstrode/Susan Bones, PG)
This fic broke my heart. It's loosely based on the story of Samson and Delilah and I don't want to give anything away, but even if you're not a huge Millicent fan, your heart will ache for her in this. Beautifully written and made me sob.
Ta-Da! by briony_tallis (Katie/Alicia, PG-13)
So sweet! So funny! Alicia has gone off to play pro Quidditch and comes back to town for a girls' night out with Katie and Angelina. Alicia is wonderfully energetic and trying to show off and Katie is adorably clueless and Angelina is hilarious. Also, a lovely George cameo. This fic was my favorite piece at this year's femmefest I do love Katie!
Enjoy! And leave some love for the fabulous authors if you do. And Happy International Day of Femslash to all! \o/ girl-love FTW!
Here's an excerpt from the story though, so I'm not a total failure! It's just a rough draft and unbetaed so bear with me (girl!Sulu/girl!Chekov, this excerpt is totally G-rated)
The street was dark, but the neon lights advertising beer and sushi made it glow with an odd, almost buzzing glow. Hikaru felt self-conscious as she walked down the street, hands stuck in the pockets of her leather jacket, bare goose-bump covered legs in combat boots, and her shiny lavender dress covered in water spots and hanging limply. The rain had ruined Mariko's efforts on Hikaru's hair and she was pretty sure that the gunk Mariko had painted on her eyes was streaking down her face because of the rain. She looked ridiculous and she was freezing.
Drenched and shivering, she dug through her pockets for some cash, so that she could buy a cup of coffee and get out of the rain. She briefly considered returning to the reception, but quickly decided that spending the evening huddled on a wet street corner and developing hypothermia was preferable to her sister's flower-laden wedding reception and dance party.
With a triumphant "A-ha!" she pulled out a rumpled ten dollar bill from a forgotten pocket of her jacket and ducked into the a quiet looking all-night diner.
Hikaru shivered as the warm, greasy-smelling air hit her and jumped slightly when a girl in a pink striped uniform leaped out from behind the "Please Wait to be Seated" podium.
"Oh my, just look at you! You must be freezing. Come in, come in! Sit down! Do you want coffee or tea? We'll warm you right up." The girl looked at Hikaru with such concern that it made Hikaru nervous.
"Oh, um, I'm fine. Really. It's just raining."
"Of course it's raining," the girl agreed. Her reddish-gold curls created a crazy halo around her head and she had at least three different pens and pencils stuck in the riot of hair. Her eyes raked up and down Hikaru's drenched figure, taking in the melted make up, the black leather jacket and big boots, and the water-stained lavender dress hanging limply around her knobby knees and skinny legs. Hikaru suddenly found herself feeling terribly self-conscious.
"Okay, yeah, um, coffee, please," Hikaru mumbled, running her hand through her messy, short hair which was wet with rain and sticky with styling product.
"Yes, yes, coffee-come sit down!" The waitress gently grabbed Hikaru's arm and pulled her towards a big, empty booth. "Sit here-it's right next to the heater. We'll get you toasty warm in no time. I'll go get you some coffee." The girl looked at Hikaru with a concerned look, like she thought maybe Hikaru would run back out into the rain if she left her alone too long, but then bounded off to what was probably the kitchen.
Hikaru pulled her cold and clammy feet from her boots and pulled them up, tucking them under her in an effort to warm them up. She fiddled with the salt and pepper shakers and wondered if her ten dollars would be enough to buy her something to eat, as well.
A few minutes later, the girl came rushing back over to Hikaru's table, her curly hair spiraling in all directions. She spun a large tray onto the neighboring table before handing Hikaru a lumpy, hand-knitted, gray and pink cardigan sweater.
"Put this on, now. Let's try to dry that coat of yours out." Hikaru wordlessly removed her wet jacket and handed it to the girl, shivering as her damp shoulders hit the cool air and feeling goose-bumps break out across her entire body. The waitress gestured at the sweater, encouraging Hikaru to put it on, and Hikaru was too cold to argue. She couldn't help but think that the little mom and pop diner was a little overzealous on the customer service front.
"Now here, drink some coffee, warm up. Do you want something to eat? How about some breakfast? We serve breakfast all day and all night and it's much better than our lunch and dinners, to be honest. And you look like you could use some eggs and pancakes. How do you like your eggs? Scrambled? You've got the scrambled egg look."
Hikaru gaped at her, amazed at how quickly the girl spoke. She had some kind of accent, Eastern European or Russian or something, but her English was perfect and she spoke faster than anyone Hikaru had ever met.
"Would you rather have them fried?"
"Oh, um, no. I just, I don't really have enough cash for a full breakfast." Hikaru pulled out the rumpled ten dollar bill and smoothed it out on the table in front of her, feeling poor and stupid.
The waitress gave her an assessing look before responding in the same rapid-fire cadence as before, "Well, you are in luck, actually. That is exactly how much a full breakfast costs. Convenient, no? How do you like your eggs?"
"Scrambled?" Hikaru answered hesitantly. She was rewarded with an enormous smile that lit up the girl's face, scrunched up her light green eyes, and made her insane curls seem to vibrate with happiness.
"Yes, yes! I knew you had the scrambled egg look. I'll be right back." The waitress rushed off, leaving Hikaru staring after her, mesmerized by the girl's energy and the swish of the pink skirt and the lopsided bow of her apron.
ALSO FEMSLASH FIC RECS! YAY!
STAR TREK XI RECS
Staring at the Rude Girls by paytofay (Girl!Sulu/Girl!Chekov, NC-17)
Yes, yes I have recced this before, but I'm reccing it again because I love love love it and it was written for ME! *twirls* It's hot, sweet, and wonderful. Chekova is cute and sassy. Hikaru punches a guy and works in a motorcycle shop and never wears a bra. Jamie Kirk cameos in a grrrl!band. There is no bad here.
Dancing About Architecture by _beetle_ (Girl!Sulu/Girl!Chekov, Girl!Sulu/Girl!Kirk, other het and slash pairings, NC-17)
This is the fic that converted me to genderbent Sulu/Chekov. It's amazing! Lots of love and triangles and unrequited or seemingly unrequited pining and hot sex and strong women and powerful relationships and emotionally charged twists and turns. It has definitely not gotten as much love as it so richly deserves so please check it out and tell her how fantastic this is!
Find the Words by ms_chak (Gaila/Uhura, Spock/Uhura, NC-17, mentions of slavery)
She just polished this up and reposted it for today! YAY! It's so heart-wrenching and lovely. I fell in love with Gaila in this and Uhura is so wonderfully characterized. Such a beautiful emotional punch. Uhura's confusion about their relationship is so understandable and the post-Farragut reaction totally made me go all wibbly and shiny-eyed.
HARRY POTTER RECS
A Pair of Dull Scissors in the Yellow Light by lily_pearl (Millicent Bulstrode/Susan Bones, PG)
This fic broke my heart. It's loosely based on the story of Samson and Delilah and I don't want to give anything away, but even if you're not a huge Millicent fan, your heart will ache for her in this. Beautifully written and made me sob.
Ta-Da! by briony_tallis (Katie/Alicia, PG-13)
So sweet! So funny! Alicia has gone off to play pro Quidditch and comes back to town for a girls' night out with Katie and Angelina. Alicia is wonderfully energetic and trying to show off and Katie is adorably clueless and Angelina is hilarious. Also, a lovely George cameo. This fic was my favorite piece at this year's femmefest I do love Katie!
Enjoy! And leave some love for the fabulous authors if you do. And Happy International Day of Femslash to all! \o/ girl-love FTW!