Woke to learn that go to sleep, kimberly was nominated one (1) time for Best Web Serial or Fanfiction on the @thetransfemininereview Reader's Choice Awards and while we feel rather honoured I want to take this opportunity to highlight many, many transfeminine fanfiction that are scores better than whatever the hell I wrote, so here goes!
The best transfeminine fanwork Ellis read in 2025 (and forgot to submit to the TFR Reader's Choice ballot)
[It's important to note that these are fanwork; i.e they are transformative fiction published this year. I've read a lot of original transfeminine fiction, but I do think transfem fanwork that stand out should be highlighted.]
No Other Way, by @croifox
this was some of the most whumpiest fanfic that i've ever fucking read, and No Other Way alongside other stories by Josie have been so beautifully written. Disastrously painful doomed transfem yuri that's encapsulated Char and Amuro's downward spiral into Char's Counterattack from a perfectly reasonable transfeminine lens, kicking you in the gut over and over and over again.
Cathy's Kimmyfic has never ceased to amaze, to be honest, and this one is no different. Set in a future from the Kimmy canon where a trans girl finds herself in a Kimmy robot, {steffy} expands upon @alysongreaves / @expertpedestrian’s (kimmy) in another direction, asking: what if you managed to get out of the robot before it's consumed you?
Mechagenesis: Cynthetic Dream, by @taralynirl
Of course we can't talk about Kimmyfic without the biggest (kimmy) fanwork, Mechagenesis: Cynthetic Dream. The coming of age novel about a girl who grows up to become a robot and is subsequently alienated as she finds herself part of the subaltern cuts rather close to the transfeminine experience. Cynthia's a resilient, strong 12-year-old who's now a fully grown Kimmy; there's a lot of grief about a lost childhood, and that is displayed vividly here.
Into the Kimmehverse, by @xanthecat
Well I'm clearly biased because I made the cover for this one, but yeah, you ever read a work and thought "hm. what if..."
Cathy's done that, several times, here, over and over, because (kimmy) lends itself to these various scenarios rather easily. But ItK isn't just a bunch of AUs; it's also an exploration into characters in (kimmy). "What if they were worse?"
honorary mentions [not published this year]
wheat into bread, fruit into wine — one of @sea-foam-dreamer's recommendations, this Skip to Loafer fic explores a brief, tender moment of love between a transmasculine and transfeminine character. lord knows we need more of that.
(not so) cold comforts by @lambdaupsilon — as with all of lambda's bocchific this was a cute exploration into bocchi's loneliness and how that melts away with ryo's companionship.
invisible string — Becca's exploration into Dorley Hall and the dynamics underlying it is wonderful, as she crafts a character that wonderfully slots into the world of Dorley Hall. It's really good. And it has Taylor Swift in it!
