FemslashREx: 5 under 5k

[hebethen]

Happy FFFriday! I finally got around to reading my FemslashEx 2019 bookmarks, so here's five recs for stories that clock in under 5,000 words. (The Original Works are essentially just short stories that happen to be published under AO3, and I recommend them even if you aren't usually a fic person!)

( #1-#4: origfic )

5. The Heat That I Know (4992 words) by runobody2
Fandom: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
( more metadata )

"Catra redemption" is probably right up there with "Catradora" as juggernaut tropes in SPOP fandom go. This is not so much the story of that redemption as it is a slice of the aftermath: cleaning up the pieces, wrestling and reconciling with the damage. It's also a very compelling view of Catra's interiority.

Daughters of Darkness: lesbian vampire stories (ed. Pam Keesey)

[el_staplador]

This is an eclectic collection, containing several short stories, a couple of extracts from full-length novels, and the full text of J. Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla. There are all sorts of vampires, from the merely misunderstood to the out and out evil; the settings range from Countess Báthory's Hungary to outer space, via nineteenth century Louisiana; the styles are equally eclectic. I wasn't convinced about the inclusion of novel extracts, which felt a bit unsatisfying to me (while still not really motivating me to go out and find the books).

But overall this was an interesting sampler, and I particularly enjoyed Pam Keesey's introduction, where she gives an overview of the lesbian vampire genre on the page and and the screen. It would be interesting to see an updated edition: this book is getting on for three decades old now, and my assumption (possibly incorrect) is that there would be quite a lot more to add.