Slash

Something that is not exclusive to the twilight fandom is slash pairings. We all have our favourites and there are some rather strange ones out there. Carlisle/Harry Potter being the weirdest one I have stumbled across but there is strangely something hypnotising about them.

Don't shoot me or anything but I can SO totally see Jasper/Edward happening. Never ever did I think that the day would come where I admit that but I just have. Alice/Bella maybe not as much. I just don't think that they would swing that way!

The point however to my ramblings, is I think that every single fanfiction reader out there should try a slash story at one time in their life, but remember they often contain lemons and those things are not meant for the younger generations!!!). Slash stories give a totally different view of the fandom and if you read the right one, it could change your opinion on that character.

So...I implore you to choose one of the following and read it :)

All I Ever Knew by Manyafandom- This is the ultimate slash story. It has some of the cutest scenes in it EVER (including a kiss in the rain) and things like that. It is enchanting and awe-inspiring from the first chapter. http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4676940/1/All_I_Ever_Knew

Over The Top by Starfish422- As I have not actually read this one YET, I will just give you the story summary :) Slash: Edward is an unabashed pleasure-seeker, one of the club kings of the Seattle gay community. One night at his favorite club, he meets an enigmatic man who rocks the world he has created. JxE AH AU Rated M for language and explicit lemonsplosions. http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4866893/1/Over_The_Top

So read one of those two and be amazed.

New Moon: The Movie

Unless you have been living in some kind of hold over the past six months, you will have to some degree have heard about 'New Moon: The Movie'. For those who have no idea, I will explain. It is the second installment in the Twilight Saga and is mainly about the whole Bella/Jacob relationship. It is really the first time that readers got to know Jacob Black more than the son of a family friend. Bella goes a tad AWOL and he is the one who brings her back to earth and proves that there is something worth living for. Majority of people loathe Jake with a passion but personally, I feel quite sorry for the guy. Unrequited love sucks and I am talking from experience here. So, guys give him a break.

Well, I didn't start writing this to prevent Jacob bashing but actually to tell you some very exciting news. Now I am not afraid to admit this but I actually heard this on the national radio so lots of other people know as well. However, my news is that, at Comic Con in San Diego this week, they showed scenes from the movie and lots of the cast (R Patz, Taylor, K Stew, Chris Weitz and Ashley Greene) answered some questions. All of it is on YouTube for you to check it out. Now, I appreciate that this is most probably not news to you.

However, I think that even from these two clips, we can tell the higher quality that New Moon will be. There is a lot more hype around the second installment, mainly due to the success of the first film, the books and a higher profile cast. I am not going to go on about Catherine Harwick's work and be mean about it because I did enjoy it, just not as much as I know I could have done. Chris Weitz has a lot of hype to live up to as he has the hopes of millions of teenage girls on his shoulders, not that I want to scare him at all, but there will be a lot (and I mean A LOT) of annoyed fans that he has to answer to if it is not very good. But if his work in the past is anything to live up to then boy are we in for a treat.

As well as a much more renowned director, the cast has improved dramatically. They have added household names to the cast-Micheal Seen, Dakota Flanning and Jamie Campbell Bower- which has only increased the media coverage of it all. All I have to compare it to is when Twilight was released. There was no hype at this point at all. I remember talking to people about it and they had no idea at all about the movie or anything. But now, I so much as mention 'Edward Cullen' and girls scream and gush loads of crap about him. Magazines and radio shows and even TV channels all have had some kind of Twilight related thing in the past six months.

So, as I begin to conclude (mainly because I am babysitting and have to put the child to bed), I leave you with this thought...an optimist is always disappointed but a pessimist is happy surprised.

Oh and guys, feel free to comment. I like to know your thoughts too :)

Banners

Okay, so I admit I am technology challenged. I can barely work my e-mail, lol. I have no clue what I'm doing when it comes to anything electronic. I had problems using the microwave earlier.

So imagine the look on my face when someone says you should make banners for the blog and awards. I thought - do they know who they're talking to? I certainly had no idea how to use photoshop or any of those things. So I am now on a search for anyone who can make banners!! Please help me!

iFic

I recently discovered a cool new thing in the Twilight fandom. It's called iFic. Basically, people are recording your favorite Twilight fics, so you can listen to them rather than read them. This system was started over at Twilighted.

Here's a little bit that was posted over at Twilighted: "That's right--you can now listen to some of the best Twilight fics available while you're driving, working, exercising, etc."

I think this is a genius idea! I just went on a very long car ride to Canada and I couldn't exactly read because then I would get car sick, so I pulled out my ipod and listened to the story! I found myself laughing and my grandparents turning around to look at me like I was crazy.

Boycotts and BarFlies by vjgm was the first fic to be recorded. I have already read this story (although it's been a while) and loved it, so I downloaded it. The recording was very good and I found it to be easy listening.

The other story that has been recorded is Die To Self by JenWordSong. I have not got around to listening to it yet, but a very reliable source tells me it's really good too!

I believe they are still looking for people to help with iFic (esp. guys), so head on over and apply.

I think it's really cool how big our fandom is getting! To have things like iFic is something I would have never would imgained when I started way back when.

21st Century books for Bella Swan

In Twilight, Bella spends a lot of time reading classic books, which is very untypical of an teenager in this day and age. Nearly every single one of my friends would groan at the prospect of having to read a book such as Pride and Prejudice (A-Level English students are supposed to but no-one has. Slackers.) or Wuthering Heights. In this respect, Bella is not normal.

So...this got me thinking and I decided to come up with a list of five books that I would recommend to Bella if she was one of my friends. My list of criteria was...

1. A good old love story like the one in Pride and Prejudice, and an old fashioned one at that! Mr Darcy can hardly be considered the mordern Romeo of the 21st century.
2. Rich kids. All of the books that are mentioned within the book contain rich people running around, gambling money left right and centre as well as buying the latest fashions. So they need a credit card from daddy to satisfy Bella!
3. A crazed set of parents. None of the parental figures in any of Bella's favourite books can be considered normal. Add Mrs Bennett's 'nerves' or Mr Heathcliff's general personality and you have slightly off the rails parents!
4. Historal themes. She likes her old stories of love and romance but also in a nice house with powerful people.

Armed with this list, I racked my brains and hit Amazon. Due to the lack of brainpower and many-a-distraction aka facebook and a mountain of text messages later, I was still not done. This was going to be a bit harder than I thought. Lol. So...I get in a couple of friends to help. They were more of a hindrance so I have decided to stick with what I know. These are some of the best romance/historal/teenage books that I have read and I hope that I can convince Bella to move into 21st century literature.

Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir- This is like The Other Boleyn Girl but about Lady Jane Grey, who was the neice of Henry VIII, and the cousin of Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I. It tells her story as she reigns for nine days and the realisation that she has no choice in her destiny. I have read it and it is writen rather well. I find that it is a better read than the Phillip Gregory books. However, there is very little romance in it. Damn. That certainly will not keep Bella hooked.

Private by Kate Brian- This is not a book set in England but in America. It follows the story of our herione, Reed Brennan, as she enters a protigous school. She falls in love (romance, check), it has crazed parents in the form of her mother and the buildings are dripping with history so it should keep her happy. Oh and all of the kids are rather well off.

Gossip Girl by Cecily Von Ziegesar- This could be the obvious choice yes but I think she may, somehow, enjoy it. Majority of us know the story thanks to the tv programme but Bella's lack of tv watching means that she will have not seen it, thus meaning the whole story will be new to her. I think that it has just about all of the requirements that I set for Bella in it (and everyone agreed!).

Those were the only three books I could find that satisfied my requirements. So read them!

What We're Reading

We have decided to make this a monthly post. We hope you can find something that interests you on this list because we know how hard it is to find somehing good to read among the thousands of fics out there.

francesb001(british-bella):

Confessions of a Nanny by Melissa228- Bella struggles to find a job so when Alice's client is looking for a nanny job, she is of course volunteered by her friend for the post. BUT as per with fanfiction stories, she gets a lot more than she barginned for. The Edward here is a divorcee who plays with Bella's emotions as she tries to capture him. Throw in presents from Victoria's Secret curtosy of Alice and Rose, oh and a four year old daughter. I cannot recommend a story anymore.

My Secret Sin by An End Has A Start- Renee is a known goldseeker and Carlisle is the man she chooses to be her next conquest. Having captured him and gotten engaged, the story begins at the wedding and Bella and Edward's first encounter, which ends in the siblings-in-law having a quick smooch. This of course leads to more. The forbidden love affair between the two of them begins and they hide it expertly from their parents. Throw in a mysterious group called the 'Merry Men' and more than one battle of love.

ohmahgawditsnicole:

The Office by tby789-Bella is edward's secratary, and they both mutually "hate" each other, until one day, something happens aaaaaand, they kinda sleep together. Everything changes from that point. They begin to have this kinda screwed up inter-office relationship that no one knows about, but when they happen to get it on at Edward's parent's house (Esme is trying to set Bella up with Mike) Rose finds out and tells them that their relationship is wrong and that they shouldn't keep sleeping together because it would basically cause a scandal. However, they unknowingly fell in love, so it makes it very difficult for them to break it off.

Keyless by The Romantical Edwardian- I'm just going to give you her summary, since i'm not that good at them, and plus, her's is really catchy. "Edward Cullen; cynic, medicated, damned. Bella Swan; silent, jumpy, paranoid. He's falling for her, which is probably a mistake. Two jagged pieces of a broken frame. Depression is a lock. And they're both...keyless."

My smile is my tears:

Tropic of Virgo by in.a.blue.bathrobe- I tried to write my own summary for this story, but nothing was good enough, so I'm just going to give you her's. "He's a young but jaded musician writing lyrics for his band, and she's a naive, frustrated poet looking to break out of her shell; their words collide online. What happens when they meet in high school, unaware of their literary connection?"

Bonne Foi by Amethyst Jackson- Edward Masen is a vampire that lives by himself and feeds on humans. One night Bella Swan leaves the library late and Edward Masen lures her out to a spot in the middle of the woods. Instead of drinking her blood he ends up having sex with her. After he meets Bella he can't drink from humans anymore, so he takes up animal blood. He figures he'll get tired of Bella and everything will go back to normal, but what happens when he falls in love with her?

hello,

so, it's nicole again.
this will be my last post, as i feel that i haven't been into twilight for quite some time, now.
frances and alyssa will be maintaining this blog from now on(:
they were so much better at posting than i was anyhow.
however, i do have a blog over on tumblr if anyone would like to follow me personally on there.
the best to you two(:
i'll probably stop by every now and then, but for now, it's just those two(:
gooooodbye.

The Best Man

Title: The Best Man
Author: Bratty-Vamp
Rating: M
Reviews: 1,921
Status: In-Progress
Summary: Next-door neighbors home from college, reunited for two weeks of their summer break. Childhood memories and adult hijinks abound. Will a friendly competition strengthen childhood bonds? Or will it help to forge a new relationship between adults? AH/AU

Amber Energi 2009-07-20 . chapter 13
You have been super creative with this fic, great job! I like all of the different stuff that you are having them do and the fun little things that happen while they're doing the events. It hasn't gotten past me that every time they drink Edward and Bella end up getting close to one another at the end of the night, and then they are interrupted. You are teasing us, its cool though. Its fun watching things slowly build up b/ween the two of them.

mllebojangles 2009-07-20 . chapter 13
I just read this whole story over the past couple days ... and I am ADORING it! It's such an interesting twist and it's so ridiculously entertaining ... I'm definitely alerting it and can't wait for updates. Keep up the good work!(Oh, and I should mention - I heard about The Best Man through the lovely ladies of the Twigasm podcast. They rock my world with their humor and the wonderful stories they recommend!)

Momma Hen 2009-06-20 . chapter 1
I am SO glad you turned me onto your new story. I had barely read half way down and was already hooked in. I know you only did that to me cause you know how good i am at reviewing you, lol. Look forward to catching up.

My Personal General Review- I started reading this story quite honestly because I was bored. It caught my eye as I searched for something to wile away the hours of boredom that I was having at home alone in June. Once I had read the first eight chapters or so, I alerted the story and sent her a review raving about it. This story has a totally unique and original plot that I certainly have not read hundreds of other times in the fandom.

Here, Bella and Jasper are the best of friends, who return home from college for two weeks. As well as the two friends being there, Jasper's brother, the one and only Edward Mason returns too. Now, normally I would write something along the lines of 'Que falling head over heels in love with each other' but in this story, that statement does not apply. There is a bitter rivalry between the two of them as they fight to become Jasper's Best Man, hence the premise of the story.

I find the Bella that my Bratty-Vamp portrays here very refreshing to read. She isn't pathetic, she doesn't mop over Edward, she gets down and dirty with the guys AND she appears to have a decent sense of humour. This is the Bella that I want as my friend! Rather than the guys (Tyler, Mike, Eric etc) treating Bella as a breakable doll, they take her in as one of their own. Even Edward lets Bella do some rather risk-ay stuff.

So all in all, it truly is an amazing read. I know I tend to say that a lot but the story that has been created here is one of those that is much loved by everyone who reads it, as the reviews above show. Bratty-Vamp has taken an idea, which she described told me, in an interview of course, that it came from no-where. 'Honestly? The idea just ‘came to me.’ When I was finishing my first story (Abbracciare IlCantante) a lot of friends asked me if I might write another. I said I might… IF an idea came to me. The day after I finished AiC, I woke with the concept for The Best Man in my head. I still said I would not start writing it unless the entire story was more concrete in my mind. Within two days I knew the story from start to finish and already felt I knew the characters I would be writing about. I knew then, that I would have to write it.'

During the aforementioned interview, I also asked what she had learnt during the process of writing 'The Best Man', which she answered simply with- 'I think that I’ve been a little more confident writing my second story. I trust myself a little more now. I’ve learned not to get so down on myself!' Every author in the fandom should grow with confidence as they write and if this story is letting her do this, then hell, carry on writing it!

As you come to the end of my rant, slide your mouse below and click the link. She deserves every bit of praise that she gets. 'The Best Man' needs to be read by everyone on ff so they understand what it takes to write a unique and inspiring story!

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5122163/1/The_Best_Man

My Secret Sin

Title: My Secret Sin
Author: An End Has A Start
Rating: M
Reviews: 1,976
Status: In-Progress
Summary: You know it’s wrong when it’s kept a secret. That’s how Bella felt anyway about the new relationship with her step-brother. All Human

anna123 2009-07-15 . chapter 20
I just found this story, and I absolutely love it!! It's been interesting from chapter one, and I've just stayed glued to the screen since I started reading! I would definitely say it has become one of my favorites;) :D Ever since things started going well for B&E though, I've been expecting something to go wrong (call me paranoid, but although the baby certainly sucked for them, I think there's still something worse about to happen), and it's kept me on the edge of my seat while I read the last few chapters!I can't wait to read more!!

twinkle-gal 2009-07-15 . chapter 20
great chapter, I can't wait when they found out about edward and bella, drama and drama right?can't wait for the next update

conceivably.eternity 2009-07-14 . chapter 20
OMG! The tension is building, I just want to know what happens when they find out!That would be quite wierd to have your brother and sister together! But if its love it seems to conquer all!Ok can I know where this school is so I can have extremely public sex?
Please. Awesome lemon, honestly epic!

My personal general Review- This story is amazingly written and keeps on getting better with every update. An End Has A Start is building this story up to such a climax that I know when I say this I speak for everyone who has this on alert but, we are all literary on the edge of our seats. Seeing that she has updated actually makes me smile, internally and externally. There is something enchanting about this story. You know that you should be thinking 'OMG this is so totally wrong' but there is some small undefinable thing that makes this story so believable. I could actually see this happening where I live and the drama it would cause.

The Bella and Edward we see are quite true to the book in some respects but in others, they are from totally different planets. Predicatably, Edward is a player but not so predicatbly, he is a genuinely nice guy behind it all with issues that Bella helps him to explore. Bella on the other hand, is very true to the book, expect here, she is not as close to Renee. Their relationship is portrayed as strained, mainly due to the many relationships that Renee has had and they have had an everlasting effect on Bella. She finds each marriage hard and appears to be very affected by them.

As well as Edward and Bella, we see all of the rest of the Cullen clan at school, minus Carlisle and Esme of course, and boy do they bring the drama. Talk about love triangles and a half! So, Alice and Jasper are a couple but add Rose, the ex who is very close with Jasper still. Sprinkle on a rape case and add a pinch of a secret group called 'The Merry Men' and that is ultimately the schooling bit of the story. Oh and add lemons in classrooms and bitchy girls.

So this story really has it all. An amazing author, a pretty unique plot line and buckets of smut and lemons, which to me only explains why it has almost 2000 reviews. If you are looking for something to get into over the summer, click the link below and check it out. I implore you to.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4913622/1/My_Secret_Sin

Dominant and Submissive

The fandom at the moment appears to be going through a craze at the moment for stories surrounding a dom/sub relationship. The stories all range in story lines. Some include Jasper, Edward and Bella, whereas others surround around Edward/Bella's dom/sub relationship. All of us love a good lemon and these appear to be the best ones out there at the moment.

For those naive and sheltered people like me, who had NO idea at all what a dom/sub relationship was when they first came across it, here are a couple of definitions.

• Wikipedia says... Dominance and submission (also known as D&s, Ds or D/s) is a set of behaviors, customs and rituals involving the giving by one individual to another individual of dominance over them in an erotic episode or as a lifestyle arrangement. Physical contact is not a necessity, and it can even be conducted anonymously over the telephone, email or other messaging system. In other cases, it can be intensely physical, sometimes traversing into sadomasochism. In D/s, both parties take pleasure or erotic enjoyment from either dominating or being dominated. Those who take the superior position are called Dominants, Doms (male) or Dommes (female), while those who take the subordinate position are called submissives or subs (male or female). A switch is an individual who plays in either role. Two switches together may negotiate and exchange roles several times in a session. "Dominatrix" is a term usually reserved for a female professional dominant who dominates others for pay.

That definition I found was helpful but a little complex. The actual page goes on to explain the details of the relationship in such infinite detail that by reading it, you know all of the ins and outs of the partnership. So due to the complex nature of that definition, I then used urban dictionary for a much more simple one and stumbled across this...

• Acronym for "submissive seme, dominant uke". In yaoi, a sexual situation with dominance/submission in which the seme (person penetrating) obeys and the uke (being penetrated) decides what happens.

This sums it up much more simply for those of us who are already on the good old summer hols (or vacation for you Americans).

So, next, in my extensive research, I searched on fanfiction, within the Twilight fandom the word 'dominant', which caused me to generate 109 results. As I scrolled down the page, something that was blindingly obvious was that all of the stories had been written within the last 10 months, majority of them were one shots that had been written recently. To me that just proved how much this craze had kicked off.

Now, I cannot go on and on about these amazing stories if I do not recommend any of them to you.

The obvious ones to recommend to you are 'The Submissive' and 'The Dominant' which are sister stories written by tara sue me http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1595284/tara_sue_me. These are perhaps the ultimate dom/sub stories. They follow both of the point of views of Edward and Bella as they explore their relationship through this odd means. I personally enjoyed these stories a lot as they are written very well and believably. BUT read 'The Submissive' first! This is the story that in my opinion has opened up the cascade of stories that have appeared recently.

The other rather blindingly easy ones to recommend are 'The Training School' series by TheSpoiltOne. http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1702022/TheSpoiltOne She tells the story of a dom/sub training school from Bella, Edward, James and Carlisle's POV's. The premise of the story is Bella being sent to the school by James, her boyfriend, as he wants her to improve in bed but in true fanfiction style, she meets Edward. It is an interesting take on the whole relationship but it works very well as a concept.

There are other ones out there but those have still yet to be read my me, thus making it impossible for me to tell you about them. However, I encourage, no implore you to search the word 'dominant' or 'submissive'. See what you can find. You may just be surprised!

You Get Me Closer To God

Title: You Get Me Closer To God
Author: americnxidiot
Rating: M
Reviews: 2,114
Status: Complete
Summary: They meet for one reason, and one reason alone. Everybody's happy. Nobody gets hurt. Right? "I wanna feel you from the inside."- E/B OOC All Human. Winner of the Eddie for best completed novel.

JynxxD (Chapter 20 review): I simply LOVE this story. And I'm extremly suprised. Ordinarily such open and frank details are a little out of my comfort zone, however, I don't feel any of it was gratuitous and was actually very required for the story -- to set the proper tone.

That being said, I also loved your Edward and Bella! Her willingness and ingenuity to face her fears and ability to admit her mistakes; His patience and silent suffering without the drastic overreactions. Very well done.

Naomitron (Chapter 20 review): Ah, my head hurts to see this story come to an end. I love just how dirty, filthy, romantic, sweet, and freaking sexy these two are (as you've so wonderfully played them out to be). It really was a fitting end to this wonderful work of art. I'm extremly sad to see it go, so I hope you've got a sequel in the works. If not, I'm always here to help pump out ideas :p Thank you for the hard work and wonderful reading material! I look forward to more from you in the future.

Anonymous: perfect ending! :D it was adorable and sweet and made me happy inside! i wish it hadn't ended, but that was an amazing close to an amazing story! i always got excited when i got an e-mail saying that you had updated! [:

Personal Reading Experince (SPOILERS): In this story, we follow Bella and Edward through their emotional, hilarious, and smutty relationship. The story brings many different emotions out of you and each one is as strong as the next (although lust is certainly at the top).

Edward and Bella's themesong throughout the story is Closer by Nine Inch Nails. It appears in the proluge, in chapter one,at the dinner table, and a few other places. It defines their relationship.

At the beginning it appears that our lovely *cough*horny*cough* characters (Bella and Edward) are only tied together by sex. Little does the reader know they are actually hording emotions.

Although anybody can see why they wouldn't fess up about their feelings. When you are getting sex like that.....you don't complain. Not only are their hook-ups spontaneous, but they do it in some pretty crazy places. The calmest they go is Edward's bedroom and I would say the craziest would be the tire swing in a stranger's back yard. And of course....it was secretive. They didn't tell their friends, or parents, or anybody. How many of us haven't wanted a secret fuck buddy? Be honest! And as if the sex in itself it's enough there is flirting *cough*foreplay*cough* going on all day long.

They eventually do put their feelings on the line and I'm sure there were tons of awws coming out. We are all happy that Edward and Bella had their happy ending, we just hope they don't lose their sex drive! You can love this story for many reasons! It's a must read!

Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4693022/1/You_Get_Me_Closer_To_God