I’m going to start this week with a quick review of last week’s FFF Housekeeping, where we discussed katiebirdie’s excellent idea of a Rob Attack FanFiction Fridays Best of 2011 List. The e-mails have been coming in packed full of your Bests and I will start to build our list this weekend, but would like to give you all one more opportunity to send me your lists. So, if you haven’t already done so and would like to participate by sending in your nominations, please feel welcome to e-mail me at RobAttack1@hotmail.com by Tuesday January 24, 2012. We will have One List but actually have two categories for the List – one category will be fics that completed in 2011 & the other category can be any fic from any year, that you read during the 2011 year and that owned you (or you are still reading, if it’s a WIP). I plan to have a whole post dedicated to our list in the next few weeks. Thanks!!
Okay, onto this week’s recs. I have two recs for you this week, one fairly recent WIP and one complete fic I had been following. Both great and totally different!
My first fic rec this week is entitled Full Circle by the FanFiction author JenRar, who has written 77 stories for Janet Evanovich, Twilight, Criminal Minds, and Bones. *wicked, eh?* 
“Full Summary: Edward left Bella in New Moon to keep her safe. Not all monsters are immortal, and fate usually gets its way, no matter how hard you fight it. There is a baby in this fic, but no, it is not half vampire/half human. You will find out in the near future more about her. Rated M for a reason, including a bit of adult language and a lot of adult situations.”
Now, I must admit, I haven’t read as many AU (Alternate Universe) fics as I have AH (All Human), which to me is kind of ironic considering we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Vampward, but normally/usually I prefer a human Edward. I say usually because recently, on Facebook, I stumbled upon this Vampward gem called Full Circle, which just began posting on January 11, 2012 with an updating schedule of every Sunday and Wednesday.
It is labelled Angst and Romance and so far we have three enticing chapters that lead me to believe we will get just that and more! I love that JenRar updates twice a week because once I started reading I wanted to know more, what happens next, right now! Honestly, as soon as I read the first chapter, especially knowing I was going into the New Moon and to Breaking Dawn and beyond Universe, I was immediately drawn in by the original attributes in the storyline. It intrigued me how I felt this story might be a partially Canon event with similarities to the Twilight Saga, but with many JenRar original twists!
Excerpt from Chapter 1:
We ate in silence, listening to the sleepy little baby noises coming through the baby monitor. We’d never been big talkers, having preferred to eat and not talk for as long as I could remember—certainly since I’d moved to Forks just over two years ago. It wasn’t usually an uncomfortable silence, though. We were both just rather reserved. So when Charlie spoke, it startled me, and I nearly knocked over my glass of milk as I was reaching for it.
“So where ya going today?” he asked, trying hard to sound casual.
How did I tell him I was going out to one of the places that meant the most to me in the world? How did I explain why it was an important place?
“I, uh…” I stuttered, trying to come up with the words. “Just a place I went to with a friend that I’ve not been to in a while.” A year, to be exact, I thought, but Charlie didn’t need to know that.
He looked at me suspiciously, but when I didn’t offer up any more information, he shrugged. “Okay, well, I’ll be home before lunch.”
I smiled, thanking him silently for not pushing, and then stood to gather our dishes. “I’ve got these. Thanks for breakfast.”
He grunted in response, and then padded out to the entry way. He popped his head back in a couple of minutes later, tugging on his jacket. I handed him a travel mug of coffee I’d made for him, and he took it, sipping gratefully. “Thanks, Bells. See you in a few.”
“We’ll be here,” I said, my eyes flickering to the baby monitor on the table.
“I’ll bring home lunch, and you can go out after?” he offered.
“That’d be great, thanks.”
He nodded, and then turned to leave.
Checking the clock once I heard the door click closed, I thought, Six hours and counting…
Even though we have some Canon characteristics in the story, it’s not just your conventional TwiFic, as there are many original and creative twists. Bella is a mother to a two month old baby girl, Lizzie, but we do not know who the father is…yet or many of the circumstances resulting in her pregnancy or the events prior to Lizzie’s birth. We do know Edward left her a year and a half ago, September 16, 2005 and it is now March 2007, but we don’t know anymore about him at this point except for a few details; such as, it’s been two years since he first took her to the meadow where “…he had ultimately declared his feelings for…” her. I sense that Bella is very much like Canon Bella in terms of her persona as a human and then as a newborn Vampire, in her behaviour, but I also feel there is much more to her character and that she will be a well-rounded strong Bella.
Since this is a new WIP and there are only 3 chapters for you to read so far, I don’t want to spoil all your reading pleasure by giving away too many details, but I did ask JenRar if she would be so kind as to give us a bit more information about her captivating story and this is what she had to say, “This story isn’t about how Bella became a mother, but about the repercussions of her having a daughter and becoming a vampire when she didn’t choose it. How she will deal with the possibility of a future without Lizzie in her life, whether or not certain people from her past will reappear, and everything that goes along with that. I made some major twists and brought something new that I’d never read in fanfic before.”
And, JenRar also provided us with a teaser for chapter 4 to be posted this Sunday January 23/12:
The next day, I sat in the cave, clenching a lock of red curls tight in my fists. I’d pulled it from Victoria’s head before we’d burned her, so I would always remember I’d conquered the one person that had scared me the most since I’d learned about vampires. I planned to keep this lock of hair with me for the rest of my existence as a reminder also of what I didn’t want to become.
I was stronger than she had been, but as I sat there, my arms wrapped around my knees as I waited for Jake, I had never felt more weak. He and Seth had been down at the rez and were bringing me back some things to take with me when I left the area.
That thought made my stomach churn. Jake was going to run with me to Canada, and then I was going to continue up to Alaska. I remembered Edward telling me about another family like his—ones who fed off animals—so I knew I could find someplace remote to live until I was able to tolerate being around humans. But the thought of leaving Forks…of leaving my baby…was killing me.
I know if you start this Vampward AU fic you will enjoy it as much as I have these past few weeks. It is very well-written, has many unique elements which make it so interesting and gives you lots to think about as you ponder what may happen next. It is most definitely like nothing I have yet to read in FanFiction with a storyline related to and based on The Original Twilight Saga plot and characters. There are so many questions that remain to be answered as we journey this Full Circle.
Summary for Full Circle: “Edward left Bella in New Moon to keep her safe. Not all monsters are immortal, and fate usually gets its way, no matter how hard you fight it. Rated M for language, lemons, and adult situations.
Twilight – Rated: M – English – Angst/Romance – Chapters: 3 – Words: 8,570 – Reviews: 103 – Updated: 1-18-12 – Published: 1-11-12 – Bella & Edward”
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7731747/1/Full_Circle
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My next rec is a sweet, snowy fic called Slippery Slope by my dear friend Bornonhalloween. In my humble opinion, she is one of the most versatile FanFiction authors I have read. She has written the most original Domward in Kinkily Ever After, I absolutely adore him, and recently had me swooning over her darling Heroward direct from the ski hills of Powderloaf Mountain.
This story was originally written ”…for the Fandom For Texas Wildfire Relief fundraiser compilation out of respect and admiration for the real-life heroes fighting against the spread of the Texas wildfires, in particular, Mr. teamswitzerlandmom (Missy’s husband). And because we all need a Heroward. ”
Slippery Slope is complete at 23 chapters and is a pleasure to read with each chapter being presented in both BPOV and EPOV. I love that we get both POVs like this because I found it really accentuated their experiences and completed their activities and adventures that were going on up on the snowy ski-hill mountain and subsequent venues. The story is somewhat based on a true life experience of the author, she says, “And yes, this happened to me, in large part, on my very first day on skis in college. I finally forgave the fool that took me to the top of Mt. Killington on Day One, and a few years later, I actually married him! ~BOH”
The story begins with an exasperated and burned-out Social Worker, Bella, whose bestfriend Alice, convinces her to take a long Easter weekend vacation with her friends in the ski hills. But the problem lies in the fact that Bella doesn’t ski, but after a morning of lessons with ski instructor Emmett, she finds herself buddied up with James, a more experienced skier, only to lose him on a gentle ski-run and end up in the perils of a far superior ski trail than she is trained for. It is during this tumultuous experience that she meets Heroward with a BAM.
Excerpt from Chapter 3 BPOV:
I look up just in time to see a crazed skier skimming within inches of my tips. “On your right!” he yells as he practically knocks me over. Seconds later, another asshole passes me on the left. “Move it!” he yells as he whizzes by.
“Hey!”
“What the hell?”
“Get out of the way!”
I don’t understand why this is happening on the green trail. Nothing like this happened this morning. Everything was calm and friendly and slow. This is madness! The other skiers seem incredibly angry with me and I push off to get out of their way, unfortunately almost knocking into the skier there. “Sorry!” I yell, desperate to get out of the way. Across, across, across- TURN! There, I’m off to the side. Surveying the area, I notice a trail marker in front of me. There are only two choices: Goosebumps and Scorpion Bowl. They’re both double black diamond!
WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO GENTLE BEN?
Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod! What am I gonna do? I pull off a glove and dive into my inside coat pocket for my phone. DAMN! Not even a single bar up here in the middle of the sky. It’s just me and my skis and we’ve got to get down this mountain together. I fight back the tears and the panic and muster every ounce of positive self-talk.
Let’s get this over with. If I’m gonna die, might as well make it quick. Well, that’s not exactly positive, but it motivates me to push off again. I select Goosebumps, praying it’s the lesser of two evils. Pushing forward, I instantly feel the difference of the trail. This one’s scratchy and hard and my wedge doesn’t slow me down at all. People are flying past me on both sides, seemingly taking great pleasure in unbalancing me. Is everyone on this trail a gigantic asshole?
I’m picking up speed, I know I need to turn, but I can’t set the edge. I’m rolling over bump after bump; my skis feel like they may snap right in half! This is it! I’m gonna ski right off the edge of the mountain! I’m gonna die right here, right now! My goggles are completely fogged over with my regurgitated hot breath. I can’t see a thing, can’t slow down, then all of a sudden, BAM!
Then we have Corporate Attorney workaholic Edward who is also persuaded, by his brother Emmett and Director of the Ski Academy, that he too needs to take a much needed vacation getaway. So, Edward decides to put down his corporate lawyer files and concede, but never did he imagine that, what was supposed to be a relaxing skiing retreat would actually result in his world being snow-stormed by a beautiful, but very inexperienced, ski bunny named Bella:
EPOV
“Holy shit!” I exclaim, tipping over to get a closer look at a girl making her way across the mountain in a full snowplow wedge. “What the hell is that girl doing on this trail? She looks like she’s been on skis less than a day and she’s somehow skied herself over to Devil Basin. Damn, I wish I had a two-way radio!”
This girl has no business up here and no visible means of getting down. The top part is relatively flat and she’s struggling to make turns; heading into the steep part of the mountain could be life-threatening, for her and anyone in her path. I keep my eyes trained on her. Holy hell, she is headed straight for Goosebumps!
“Do me a favor, folks,” I say, lifting the safety bar and preparing early to dismount the chair. “Tell the lift operator to have ski patrol on call at the bottom of this lift, would you please? Nice meeting both of you!”
I jump off the chair the moment it’s safe and ski over to Goosebumps as fast as my skis can propel me. Luckily, she hasn’t gotten very far, but she’s already become the epicenter for all kinds of traffic problems. People are passing her closely on both sides as she carves her turn and heads back across. By the time I’m almost caught up to her, she’s skidding sideways down the mountain. Her arms are flailing, hair is flying; she’s completely lost control. She’s off balance, leaning backwards, causing her tips to point up and pick up speed. She’s heading straight for the edge of the north face, and I don’t even want to think about what’s on the other side waiting for her.
I serpentine around the moguls at the right side where she’s headed, hoping I can time this perfectly. It’s risky at best, and I fear I could get both of us seriously hurt, but I don’t see an alternative short of standing back and watching her take a header over the cliff.
My heart is pounding with hot pursuit and inherent danger. I’ve got one eye on the girl and one on the hills littering my path. I slow my descent so I’ll still have some forward velocity when our bodies meet.
I have no choice. It’s her only chance. 3……2……1….BAM!
This lovely story is labelled Romance, which it most definitely is, but there is also so much humour and sweetness between Bella and Edward as they get to know each other. It’s not a smexy fic, but I know you will be lovin’ Heroward and BunnyBella and all their crazy antics, as they explore the skiing realm. And maybe, if you read this slippery adventure you will pleasantly discover more than one Hero and saviour! Also, I spoke with BOH and there is always a possibility we might get an Epilogue and/or a Futuretake later. *just sayin’*
Summary for Slippery Slope: “A crash course with destiny brings together a burned-out social worker seeking to rekindle her faith in mankind and a disillusioned attorney running out of chances to be a real life hero. Written for Texasfires compilation. E/B, AH, M for language
Twilight – Rated: M – English – Romance – Chapters: 23 – Words: 32,365 – Reviews: 1487 – Updated: 1-17-12 – Published: 11-6-11 – Edward & Bella – Complete”
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7527938/1/Slippery_Slope
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So, that’s a few of the great fics I read this week and I have also been busy Beta’ing and trying to catch up on WIP Updates. Now it’s your turn, please share what you’ve been reading and what’s been owning you in the FanFiction world this week. Happy FFF my friends!
MC
PLEASE NOTE: MC’s FF Library is up to date again and I have also added some special post links.
allyvera
Cared
Midnight Cougar
rita01tx
RobsFan-tasy
wiltshireglo
