Our mission be the story to tell
Of Xena and her Gabrielle
Of Xena and her Gabrielle
My favorite and recommended Bard fics:
Melissa Good
MERWOLF aka Missy Good. Of course. These were the first XWP fics I was, thankfully, introduced to when I first got online. Still the best. Classic, Conqueror, and Uber (Dar & Kerry.) Follows my mini synopses of the first books in the still ongoing series:
A Warrior By Any Other Name
Xena and Gabrielle make a new friend who leads them down a very unexpected
path. A Good Beginning. Sometime after "The Quest..." Hmm. The furry friend (and
not the only one they'll acquire...aroo) is awfully redolent of Vincent,
the beast (indeed, said tv character figures prominently on the mock-up
cover linked to this site, executed by one of
the multitude of adoring DEN-izens of the
pack), but Missy says the resemblance is only pelt deep
and purely coincidental. I was initially thrown by bringing a new sort of
creature into an already established mythos, but once we get to the
budding romance and acknowledge the undeniable attraction between our
heroines, sigh, nothing will ever be the same. Who will make the first
move, bard or warrior? I dare you not to get hooked.
At a Distance
Gabrielle is recalled to the Amazons, while
Xena decides to spend some time at home. The
separation proves... illuminating.
This one is a bonafide classic. On everyone's top ten list of best Xena
tales or amazon stories. The hearts in question grow tremblingly fonder
the farther apart they are forced to be. Gives new meaning to the
willingness to climb mountains and ford rushing streams for one's beloved.
Gab takes her queenly duties very seriously and Xena plays the dark knight
coming to the fair maid's rescue to the hilt...and then some. Occasion for
dancin' and singin' in the rain if ever there was one. Unforgettable.
Home is Where the Heart Is
Gabrielle's father sends for her - but all's
not what it seems in Potadeia, and Xena
decides to find out why. An ironic title, a
metaphor and, as we know, "home can be a person." The
seemingly modern and topical subject of
physical abuse rears its ever ugly head in
this one. How Missy can extrapolate the full blooded characters of
Hecuba and Herodotus from their negligible
appearance in the pilot episode is truly
remarkable...especially since some further character development
in "Family Affair" years later would show her
not at all off the mark in her perceptions of
Gabrielle's mother and father. Or, as with so much in
the Missyverse version of things, do we
refuse to see the characters in any other
fashion, but that which she has wrought? And, just as in that
episode, it becomes a wince inducing matter
of taking the lover home to meet the hostile
folks. Gab's angry dad is determined to marry her off
again and to get Xena out of the picture and
his daughter's life...by any means necessary.
And Xena does her level best not to kill her lover's da.
Though her righteous anger on behalf of her
bard makes that outcome a decided possibility.
Bound
Xena and Gabrielle decide to pay their friend
Jessan a visit, but as usual, unexpected
things seem to happen. Perhaps my favorite of
the Xena tales. The one that begins to explore in
depth the quite literal bond between these
soulmates. Think Imzadi (for all you
Treksters out there in the audience.) The warrior's deepest fears
are exposed. Will she ever find redemption,
or will they be parted for eternity? You will
never find a better description of claustrophobia
anywhere. If the Merwolf does not suffer from
the malady or know someone very well who does
and is able to describe it to such perfection that it
makes you experience the feeling itself then
she is simply an extraordinarily empathic
personality (that Trek reference isn't far off
the mark) as well as a fine writer. Contains
one of the sweetest, nurturing moments I've
ever read...Xena's mother of necessity invention of
the hot water bottle (hey, many skillls) for
her beloved bard. Some classic hurt/comfort
in this one. Xena's soul searching and psychic pain
will break your heart.
Winter's Ending
Home at last, Xena and Gabrielle find that
trouble follows them even there, as Amazons,
Hercules, and some very unexpected guests liven up
their winter.
Sigh. Does is get any better than this? The
story opens with a wonderful homey portrait
of the bard lying before a blazing fire in their cozy cabin
working on her scrolls. Missy continues to
fully flesh out the characters of Cyrene and
Toris, Xena's mother and brother, amazon Ephiny, and to
create fascinating new characters all her own
such as the precocious Xena in miniature
wannabe Cait, a fierce young amazon. Xena fights, bests, and
rescues Herc. And don't we just love the way
she broke 'the news' (about herself and Gab)
to Herc's companion, Iolaus, the clueless? We'd pay money
to see that little scene performed live.
Meanwhile, Gab is kidnapped along with a
troop of amazonette girlscouts in training and Xena becomes
desperately fearful of reaching her in time
this time. (To the Spoiler goes the victory:
The bard's would-be rapist suffers a fate worse than
death when the raging warrior gets her
powerful hands on him.)
The Longest Night
Friends and relations gather in Amphipolis to
celebrate the Winter Solstice, and a long-awaited joining.
It's party time. A sublimely romantic wedding scene as our girls join
their hearts, souls and lives before all their friends and relations and
seriously consider settling down for good in their comfy cabin in Xena's
hometown...but, of course, trouble will just
come to them in that case. I was almost
apopletic when Missy's plotting threatened the honeymoon, but
it's really all been pretty much honeymoon with them from the start.
Everybody say, "mmm." An amusing Steve Martin/John Candy gay panic moment
when Herc and Io discuss the ramifications of their relationship in
relation to what they now know about X&G. The tendrils of the elements
implanted through the first dramatic spate of tales become increasingly
intertwined. The dark power that threatened Herc in the previous tale
makes a reappearance and targets Xena, the forest dwellers remain strong
allies and further alliances are being formed among the centaur and amazon
camps that will set little Amphipolis in good stead when all the vultures
come home to roost. These stories are interconnected and must be read in
order.
Reflections from the Past
Xena and Gabrielle while away the long winter days translating a set of
old scrolls that hold a story strangely familiar to them.
There are so many wonderful present day ubers out there, but leave it to
Missy to give us a prior incarnation of our heroines. Xena plays
translator of some ancient scrolls found in a
cave as we learn of a pair of women,
castaways from a far off land, seemingly celtic/viking, who rely
upon and comfort each other, save each other's lives and fall deeply in
love. A bit of a change of pace, surprisingly heartfelt and a very
accomplished, mature performance from our beloved novelist.
Darkness Falls
The Rift behind them, Xena and Gabrielle
start down the long road to reconciliation as
they rebuild their lives. Heartwrenching
stuff abounds. Slowly, painfully, delicately they put the
pieces of each other's shattered hearts back
together. Missy's rather optimistic path for
our girls was waylaid just a bit by what has come to
be known (and despised by some) as The Rift.
I find it a powerfully passionate poetic
mythos in the hands of the right authors. She doesn't
gloss over it, nor does she wallow in it.
This is truly bittersweet, as the friends had
hurt each other with words and mistrust far worse than any
personal physical injuries. It's a matter of
post traumatic stress, and let's remember
Gabrielle was raped and her partner will always feel the
guilt of not preventing that event which then
led to so much tragedy for both of them. And
who says Missy doesn't go all the way with a love
scene...you're just not reading carefully.
She doesn't need graphic detail to make it
deliciously erotic. She is a skilled enough writer not to need
to do that.
Leap of Faith
A delayed trading caravan draws Xena and
Gabrielle's attention, with results neither
of them expected. Gab goes undercover to
rescue a kidnapped and badly abused Ephiny from a
vicious, seemingly unreformable young woman
named Paladia, even offering herself in place
of her friend. While Xena leads a pack of skeptical
amazons, still angry in the aftermath of what
she did to their queen, to the rescue. Will
she win them over by making that extraordinary,
superhuman, quite literal leap of faith in
order to save her beloved yet
again? Love can indeed move mountains. Especially when the lover is Xena.
Promises Kept
Back on the road again, Xena and Gabrielle
find that trouble is not about to leave them
alone, as Xena receives a summons from an old comrade at
arms, reminding her of a favor owed.
So, Gabby wants to have a baby, and we know,
whatever Gabby wants, Gabby gets. She arises
to a unique (but, as it appears to turn out, unnecessary)
solution to this conundrum (I won't give that
one away) and is determined, hopefully, to
get it right this time. A child that will belong to both of
them...to assuage the pain and guilt over the
children they lost.
Hey, what's with the
penguin, Missy?
Festival
Xena and Gabrielle head for Amazon Country,
to join them for the festival of Dionysus.
It's supposed to be a nice, peaceful interlude, but as you
know, Amazons + Gabrielle = TROUBLE.
Will Xena ever feel at home in the amazon
village? Can she ever consider herself one of
them? And vice versa? Even as their queen's chosen consort
and champion...or will there always be too
much bad blood between them for that?
Charming how the budding Cait/Paladia romance mirrors X&G on a
smaller, cuter scale. And Ephiny and Pony are
still working gamely at their relationship.
That makes three joinings now for our girls: the
crystalline beauty of the cave ceremony with
the forest people (a relic that once again
pops up in the lives of Dar and Kerry), the simple,
sweetly straightforward binding in Amphipolis
and the more primitive ritualized ceremony of
the amazons. Thrice wed. Charmed. As Gabrielle with
child.
Circle of Life
After the bard's close call
with Death, Gabrielle and Xena settle down at
home in Amphipolis to await the birth of their child. But things never go
quite as planned, and when Amazons, forest
dwellers, and enemies are involved...
I was admittedly skeptical about birthing
another baby with these two, but Missy has
made the character of Dori (and character she is from the day of
her birth) a surprising charmer, a pleasing
amalgam of her mommies. Trouble is her middle
name and she will never lack for adventures, an
inherited trait. The birth scene is
surprisingly delightful in its simplicity and
ease, one of the sweetest, amusing, and most touching I've
ever read. How do you do it, Missy? We'd
swear you'd given birth as well, or vowed to
experience it to get it just so very, very right.
Dark Comes the Morning
Xena and Gabrielle have settled contentedly
in Amphipolis, and are enjoying their new
baby daughter, Doriana. Or are they? Life is, as
Gabrielle well knows, a series of tradeoffs.
To achieve one thing, you often have to give
up something else. Parts 1-27 (!) Yes, this
is Missy's longest tale, by far. A riveting,
page-turning (or -scrolling), battle-filled, dark, triumphant, love
conquers anything and everything reaffirmation of a passion that can
transcend anything gods or demons or mere mortal men hurl in its way. The
woman's writing and storytelling skills become more accomplished with each
new tale. This one even manages to sock away Dahok, if not summarily, then
with some finality. Worth waiting for. Brings the season three arc full
circle, a great coda to the series and to Missy's Xena sagas (if, heaven
forbid, she should hang up the quill and never write another.) Has epic
written all over it. As fine as any (and better than most) sword and
sorcery sagas published in hard covers.
The Secret Histories (Jan & Mel)
Vivian DARKBLOOM wrote my favorite Jan and Mel saga and one of the best pieces of fanfic I've ever read. The Secret Histories, Coup de Grace, the oh so poignant Venezia, All the Colors of the World. This is literary fanfic of the highest order. Exquisitely beautiful and heartbreaking. An amazing, adult extrapolation from a silly, but fun, clips show (the very first XWP ep I ever saw, in fact, that kept me coming back for more) that invented the grand genre of UBER for us, THE XENA SCROLLS.
Amazon List of Best Ubers in print
My personal amazon dot com listmania list of favorite published XWP UBER novels.
Lao Ma's Kiss
One of the first XWP stories I read online and remains an all-time favorite. Elaine Sutherland's "Lao Ma's Kiss." Poignant, unforgettable, and gracefully written (by an academic.)
Wicked erotic Uber novel
Never finished, but long and fascinating. An infamous online classic. Only available now on the Wayback Machine. Not for everyone. There's s&m. Uber Xena is a tattoo artist with a past and Uber Gab is the 'innocent' college professor who can't stay away from her. The QAF of the Xenaverse, set in Pittsburgh!
UBER SUSPENSE
Paul Seely's highly entertaining thriller Uber and do read the follow-up "Persistence of Memory."
SCI FI Cyberpunk UBER saga
Jules Mills' much-loved near-future uber epic.