Recs for International Women's Day
As it's still International Women's Day in my time zone, here's a femslash recs post! Because, okay, there's no Steve/Danny below... but variety is the spice of life. ;)
(and, seriously, Jo/Ruby is the fantasy OTP you never knew you wanted!)
Where I Stood by thecon12 {Skins - Naomi/Emily, Naomi&Effy friendship, Effy/JJ}
(83,300 words) Post-S3 finale. Naomi POV. The regrets you make always come back to haunt you... “Naomi’s well aware that she’s let herself get caught up, and lost, in this momentary madness that perhaps this can all be some kind of romantic fairytale with the perfect ending, knows that she’s given in and allowed Emily take from her whatever she wants and now can’t possibly ask for it back.” Excellent characterizations, good pacing. I loved watching everyone grow up and eventually find their happy ending.
Holy Clockwork Angels by ghostrunner7 {SPN - Ruby/Jo}
(16,000 words) Steampunk AU in which Jo’s still a hunter and Ruby’s still a demon, complete with airships, gaslight, Victorian costume fantasies, and clockwork... everything. Ruby and Jo have to save the world! Probably. I loved their dynamic, the twist on the demons, how Bobby, Castiel, etc were worked in. This is all very clever and a captivating read. “So, what’s the plan?” Jo asked several hours of fighting the elements later. “Search the entire city of Paris for an angel?”
Ruby looked sidelong at her and Jo paused in thought. “There’s a joke in there, somewhere,” she said, and Ruby grinned.
this circus we're in by likewinning {SPN - Jo/Ruby}
(2,292 words) Missing scenes in Season 3. This is absolutely delicious. I'm always surprised how much I love this pairing when it's done well. "She tastes like Texas heat, like lemons and smoke and chapstick, and it’s really not Ruby’s fault if she’s too distracted to get into the 'I’m a demon, ask me how' aspect of things."
Punch Line by yourperiphery {SPN - Jo/Ruby}
(2,500 words) Set during Season 2's All Hell Breaks Loose. Just the right tinge of sexy and the characterizations are pitch perfect. "So a demon walks into a bar. It's a crap-ass excuse for a drinking establishment, if you ask her. The last time Ruby was topside long enough to poke around, people took pride in their canteens. Music, men in uniform, women in red lipstick and carefully painted eyebrows. It was something to behold."
A Girl's Gotta Do by keerawa {SPN - Jo/Ruby UST}
(7,000 words) Season 3. "Jo was aware that a sudden desire to avoid moral ambiguity might be the stupidest reason ever to call a demon, but she didn’t let that stop her."
Venus Rising by shaggydogstales {SPN - Anna/Ruby}
(5,100 words) Spoilers through 5x10. Set post 4x22. AU: When Anna fell, she didn't go to earth; she went to hell. She isn't an angel and she isn't a demon, but somewhere in between. Fresh out of hell when Lucifer rises, Anna's got her own reasons for wanting to stop the apocalypse.
Slip Inside the Cracks by scorpiod1 {SPN - Anna/Ruby}
(1,600 words) A string of missing scenes during S4. "You're different than the rest," Anna said once. Ruby wasn't sure if she could believe it.
A Summer of Limitless Bites by little-missmimi {SPN - Ruby/Anna}
(2,040 words) Season 5. When Lucifer brings her topside again, Ruby runs into an old acquaintance. "Don't make promises you can't keep."
No one here wants to fight me like you do by marishna {SPN - Ruby/Bela UST}
(1,860 words) Ruby comes to warn Bela off in Season 3.
Order Up by lil_utterance {True Blood - Sookie/Pam}
(4,143 words) "Five times Sookie and Pam didn't drink together, and one time they did." TV 'verse, but characterization expanded on from the books. This made me ridiculously happy. Great build up of UST.
Deep Breaths by trollprincess {SPN - Mary/Ellen}
(22,000 words) "AU. Azazel offered Mary a choice, and she did what she had to do. She looked him in the eyes when he offered to bring her dead boyfriend back to life, and she told him no. Fifteen years later, she's divorced, a single mom, and living in the sort of quaint small town she used to dream about raising her family in. Enter a strange woman with a mute little girl, a woman who cracks through Mary's barely stable facade of a normal life." It's original and very clever, using canon we've received from S1-5 to do something very neat & completely plausible with Mary here. Great payoff at the end.
This One’s About the Girls by silver-spotted {SPN - Jo Harvelle/Ava Wilson}
(20,480 words) Season 2 era AU. Post 'Hunted', Jo finds Ava and promises to keep her safe.
Obscenity by isilya {Harry Potter - Ginny/Luna}
(2,300 words) "Luna Lovegood knows obscenity when she sees it." Oh my god, this story. Luna, after the war and like always: utterly raw & unashamed.
Nightingale by hitlikehammers {Star Trek XI - Nurse Chapel/Uhura}
(4,232 words) "It starts with a broken wrist." Lovely and detailed, with a great build up of UST. "Christine’s just finishing her shift when the distinct click of boots echoes through medbay - and damn it all if the sharp tap of those regulation heels isn’t different with her, isn’t the quick rasp of a breath as everything goes warm and hazy. Christine closes her eyes for a single moment against the black of the stars, behind the lids of her eyes, and she clutches her datapad against the swell of her breasts, like the floorboard hiding the tell-tale heart."
girls on desks by preromantics {True Blood - Jessica/Pam}
(2,200 words) Early S3. "Your desk has seen much worse," Pam says, fixing her hair in the reflection of the mirror behind Eric's head. Great Pam characterization and sexy as well.
am I the poster girl? by mywholecry {RPS - Miley Cyrus/Taylor Swift}
(1,800 words) Great UST and uncertainty and innocent teen seduction. “Taylor keeps sending pictures to her phone, like it's not weird. Her favorite is a picture of Taylor holding a stuffed lion, baring her teeth, one hand curled into a claw. A few minutes after she got it, a text comes that says: cant b tamed, get it??? and she won't tell anybody why she can't stop smiling.”
The Great Machine on Epsilon 3 by lil-utterance {Babylon 5/The Matrix - Susan Ivanova & Talia Winters UST}
(22,520 words) Babylon 5/The Matrix fusion. Like an extended prologue to an unwritten novel. It was interesting to see how the author combined the two sources. "Susan Ivanova is already living a double life: EA officer by day, rogue telepath smuggler by night. However, her life doesn't really become complicated until she finds out that everything she's tried so hard to hide is already known. The entire universe is changing around her; but she figures as long as thinks quickly enough and trusts no one, she might be able to keep up. At least until she realizes that everything she thought she knew had always been a lie, and that her secrets go even deeper than she had ever conceived.”
The Shortest Distance Between Two Points by cobalt-siren {Skins - Freddie/Cook; Effy/Katie}
(14,700 words) Post S3. “Summer is over, but things are anything but ‘back to normal’ for the gang. Thomas and Panda, Naomi and Emily are happy in couples-land, but tensions are still high between Freddie and Cook and things can only get worse when Effy comes back from Italy. Katie, still in a funk from the events in the woods and at the Love Ball, isn't exactly thrilled to see Effy either. Will the group fracture entirely or will they learn to fix each other?”
A Lean and Hungry Look by Kerisempai {Harry Potter - Pansy/Hermione}
(21,000 words) Post-DH, ignoring epilogue. "Someone’s out to kill Pansy Parkinson. Can her former enemies put aside their own prejudices long enough to save her life?" [Not too kind to Ron, but worth it for the great Pansy, Hermione, and Neville bits.]
An Exercise in Politics by suaine {Merlin - Gwen/Morgana, Merlin/Arthur}
(15,200 words) Gwen POV Post Season One future-fic, set during Arthur's reign. In which Gwen is both reckless & brave, and takes the chance at happiness when she sees it. "They stared at each other, neither one willing to back down, and Gwen stood between them, thoughts on the trade route that ran like a major artery through Albion, pumping the lifeblood of commerce into countries on either side of it. It was a dangerous road, beset by bandits and often untended - but it would lead her to where she needed to go."
Summer of (Kinda, Sorta) Love by sivim27 {Skins - Emily/Naomi, Katie/JJ }
(13,300 words) Set in the summer following S3 with just impeccable characterizations. Covers a typical Skins-style summer day for Emily, Naomi, Katie, JJ, and Freddie.
The Last Two First Steps by jengrrrl {Skins - Naomi/Emily, Katie}
(18,700 words) Great characterizations. Set immediately post-S3. With its working title of Fitch Family Drama, this story follows the aftermath of the Love Ball--the tentative steps Emily and Katie Fitch have to take in order to mend their relationship with each other, with their family, and with Naomi (not the supermodel!) Campbell, Emily's girlfriend.
Amoral Boundaries by wisdomeagle {BtVS/Angel - Dawn/Illyria}
(5,050 words) AU NFA fic. "Sacrifices have to be made at the end of all things."
(and, seriously, Jo/Ruby is the fantasy OTP you never knew you wanted!)
Where I Stood by thecon12 {Skins - Naomi/Emily, Naomi&Effy friendship, Effy/JJ}
(83,300 words) Post-S3 finale. Naomi POV. The regrets you make always come back to haunt you... “Naomi’s well aware that she’s let herself get caught up, and lost, in this momentary madness that perhaps this can all be some kind of romantic fairytale with the perfect ending, knows that she’s given in and allowed Emily take from her whatever she wants and now can’t possibly ask for it back.” Excellent characterizations, good pacing. I loved watching everyone grow up and eventually find their happy ending.
Holy Clockwork Angels by ghostrunner7 {SPN - Ruby/Jo}
(16,000 words) Steampunk AU in which Jo’s still a hunter and Ruby’s still a demon, complete with airships, gaslight, Victorian costume fantasies, and clockwork... everything. Ruby and Jo have to save the world! Probably. I loved their dynamic, the twist on the demons, how Bobby, Castiel, etc were worked in. This is all very clever and a captivating read. “So, what’s the plan?” Jo asked several hours of fighting the elements later. “Search the entire city of Paris for an angel?”
Ruby looked sidelong at her and Jo paused in thought. “There’s a joke in there, somewhere,” she said, and Ruby grinned.
this circus we're in by likewinning {SPN - Jo/Ruby}
(2,292 words) Missing scenes in Season 3. This is absolutely delicious. I'm always surprised how much I love this pairing when it's done well. "She tastes like Texas heat, like lemons and smoke and chapstick, and it’s really not Ruby’s fault if she’s too distracted to get into the 'I’m a demon, ask me how' aspect of things."
Punch Line by yourperiphery {SPN - Jo/Ruby}
(2,500 words) Set during Season 2's All Hell Breaks Loose. Just the right tinge of sexy and the characterizations are pitch perfect. "So a demon walks into a bar. It's a crap-ass excuse for a drinking establishment, if you ask her. The last time Ruby was topside long enough to poke around, people took pride in their canteens. Music, men in uniform, women in red lipstick and carefully painted eyebrows. It was something to behold."
A Girl's Gotta Do by keerawa {SPN - Jo/Ruby UST}
(7,000 words) Season 3. "Jo was aware that a sudden desire to avoid moral ambiguity might be the stupidest reason ever to call a demon, but she didn’t let that stop her."
Venus Rising by shaggydogstales {SPN - Anna/Ruby}
(5,100 words) Spoilers through 5x10. Set post 4x22. AU: When Anna fell, she didn't go to earth; she went to hell. She isn't an angel and she isn't a demon, but somewhere in between. Fresh out of hell when Lucifer rises, Anna's got her own reasons for wanting to stop the apocalypse.
Slip Inside the Cracks by scorpiod1 {SPN - Anna/Ruby}
(1,600 words) A string of missing scenes during S4. "You're different than the rest," Anna said once. Ruby wasn't sure if she could believe it.
A Summer of Limitless Bites by little-missmimi {SPN - Ruby/Anna}
(2,040 words) Season 5. When Lucifer brings her topside again, Ruby runs into an old acquaintance. "Don't make promises you can't keep."
No one here wants to fight me like you do by marishna {SPN - Ruby/Bela UST}
(1,860 words) Ruby comes to warn Bela off in Season 3.
Order Up by lil_utterance {True Blood - Sookie/Pam}
(4,143 words) "Five times Sookie and Pam didn't drink together, and one time they did." TV 'verse, but characterization expanded on from the books. This made me ridiculously happy. Great build up of UST.
Deep Breaths by trollprincess {SPN - Mary/Ellen}
(22,000 words) "AU. Azazel offered Mary a choice, and she did what she had to do. She looked him in the eyes when he offered to bring her dead boyfriend back to life, and she told him no. Fifteen years later, she's divorced, a single mom, and living in the sort of quaint small town she used to dream about raising her family in. Enter a strange woman with a mute little girl, a woman who cracks through Mary's barely stable facade of a normal life." It's original and very clever, using canon we've received from S1-5 to do something very neat & completely plausible with Mary here. Great payoff at the end.
This One’s About the Girls by silver-spotted {SPN - Jo Harvelle/Ava Wilson}
(20,480 words) Season 2 era AU. Post 'Hunted', Jo finds Ava and promises to keep her safe.
Obscenity by isilya {Harry Potter - Ginny/Luna}
(2,300 words) "Luna Lovegood knows obscenity when she sees it." Oh my god, this story. Luna, after the war and like always: utterly raw & unashamed.
Nightingale by hitlikehammers {Star Trek XI - Nurse Chapel/Uhura}
(4,232 words) "It starts with a broken wrist." Lovely and detailed, with a great build up of UST. "Christine’s just finishing her shift when the distinct click of boots echoes through medbay - and damn it all if the sharp tap of those regulation heels isn’t different with her, isn’t the quick rasp of a breath as everything goes warm and hazy. Christine closes her eyes for a single moment against the black of the stars, behind the lids of her eyes, and she clutches her datapad against the swell of her breasts, like the floorboard hiding the tell-tale heart."
girls on desks by preromantics {True Blood - Jessica/Pam}
(2,200 words) Early S3. "Your desk has seen much worse," Pam says, fixing her hair in the reflection of the mirror behind Eric's head. Great Pam characterization and sexy as well.
am I the poster girl? by mywholecry {RPS - Miley Cyrus/Taylor Swift}
(1,800 words) Great UST and uncertainty and innocent teen seduction. “Taylor keeps sending pictures to her phone, like it's not weird. Her favorite is a picture of Taylor holding a stuffed lion, baring her teeth, one hand curled into a claw. A few minutes after she got it, a text comes that says: cant b tamed, get it??? and she won't tell anybody why she can't stop smiling.”
The Great Machine on Epsilon 3 by lil-utterance {Babylon 5/The Matrix - Susan Ivanova & Talia Winters UST}
(22,520 words) Babylon 5/The Matrix fusion. Like an extended prologue to an unwritten novel. It was interesting to see how the author combined the two sources. "Susan Ivanova is already living a double life: EA officer by day, rogue telepath smuggler by night. However, her life doesn't really become complicated until she finds out that everything she's tried so hard to hide is already known. The entire universe is changing around her; but she figures as long as thinks quickly enough and trusts no one, she might be able to keep up. At least until she realizes that everything she thought she knew had always been a lie, and that her secrets go even deeper than she had ever conceived.”
The Shortest Distance Between Two Points by cobalt-siren {Skins - Freddie/Cook; Effy/Katie}
(14,700 words) Post S3. “Summer is over, but things are anything but ‘back to normal’ for the gang. Thomas and Panda, Naomi and Emily are happy in couples-land, but tensions are still high between Freddie and Cook and things can only get worse when Effy comes back from Italy. Katie, still in a funk from the events in the woods and at the Love Ball, isn't exactly thrilled to see Effy either. Will the group fracture entirely or will they learn to fix each other?”
A Lean and Hungry Look by Kerisempai {Harry Potter - Pansy/Hermione}
(21,000 words) Post-DH, ignoring epilogue. "Someone’s out to kill Pansy Parkinson. Can her former enemies put aside their own prejudices long enough to save her life?" [Not too kind to Ron, but worth it for the great Pansy, Hermione, and Neville bits.]
An Exercise in Politics by suaine {Merlin - Gwen/Morgana, Merlin/Arthur}
(15,200 words) Gwen POV Post Season One future-fic, set during Arthur's reign. In which Gwen is both reckless & brave, and takes the chance at happiness when she sees it. "They stared at each other, neither one willing to back down, and Gwen stood between them, thoughts on the trade route that ran like a major artery through Albion, pumping the lifeblood of commerce into countries on either side of it. It was a dangerous road, beset by bandits and often untended - but it would lead her to where she needed to go."
Summer of (Kinda, Sorta) Love by sivim27 {Skins - Emily/Naomi, Katie/JJ }
(13,300 words) Set in the summer following S3 with just impeccable characterizations. Covers a typical Skins-style summer day for Emily, Naomi, Katie, JJ, and Freddie.
The Last Two First Steps by jengrrrl {Skins - Naomi/Emily, Katie}
(18,700 words) Great characterizations. Set immediately post-S3. With its working title of Fitch Family Drama, this story follows the aftermath of the Love Ball--the tentative steps Emily and Katie Fitch have to take in order to mend their relationship with each other, with their family, and with Naomi (not the supermodel!) Campbell, Emily's girlfriend.
Amoral Boundaries by wisdomeagle {BtVS/Angel - Dawn/Illyria}
(5,050 words) AU NFA fic. "Sacrifices have to be made at the end of all things."