Guest FanFic Rec: OXYMORONIC8!!!!

Author: houroflead
Story: The Porcupine Embrace
Status: WIP
Rating: Mature
Chapters: 16, 50,837 words
Published/Updated: 10/19/08, 12/28/08
Genre/Sub-Genre: AU-AH/College Bella and Edward meet and fall for each other
Summary: Edward has been jaded by love and relationships, he is living a solitary life when he meets Bella. In her he begins to hope for love again, but Bella isn't perfect-far from it. Will he trust her? Should he?

The Porcupine Embrace by houroflead
The Porcupine Embrace Twilighted Thread

Oxymoronic8's Recommendation:

The concept of Bella and Edward at college has been done to death, but this story doesn’t go the easy route with fluff and flagrant Mary Sue-ing nor does it portray Edward as the arrogant womanizer we’ve come to see so often in AH fanfic. Instead, both Edward and Bella are lost souls with hardened exteriors that they use to shield themselves from their own fears of intimacy. They both try so hard to come off as too-cool-for-school types, spouting off clever one-liners to mask their inability to relate to their shallower peers, but really each is lonely and subconsciously craving someone who understands them. The fantastic thing about this fic is that the author pulls off both the cold, hipster façade the two main characters use to detract unwanted attention from those around them and the heartbreaking vulnerability that lurks just beneath the surface. Houroflead’s Bella and Edward are funny, have phenomenal, cutting-edge taste in music, and possess the ability to pull out obscure but freakishly perfect pop culture references at the drop of a hat. At the same time, they are just two people scared to death of falling in love for the first time for fear that they get their hearts broken. As a reader, you envy them for being smarter and more hilarious than you could ever be while at the same time, your heart goes out to them because emotionally, both of them are walking on eggshells, terrified of taking a shot at falling in love.


This story also has a fascinating subplot that isn’t broached very often in fanfic: Bella, a 21-year-old college student, lives at home with Charlie, and Edward takes up residence with his parents as well. The issues that arise when two young adults live at home aren’t glossed over, which is refreshing. In particular, Bella battles over-protective Charlie, and Edward deals with the lack of privacy in the Cullen house. I love the building dynamic that’s going on in this story, where Bella will ultimately have to stand up for herself and prove to her father that she’s an adult. So often, Charlie and Bella’s relationship is handled haphazardly, but here, the short-comings of their lack of communication and Charlie’s over-protective nature are addressed head-on, leaving the reader anticipating what path their relationship will take in future chapters.


The great thing about The Porcupine Embrace is that even the lines that many other writers would just gloss over are pure gold. Houroflead expresses everything with finesse and flair, never breaking out of the hilarious cynicism of her characters. For example, the descriptions of the furnishings of the Cullens house, something a reader typically glosses over because we’ve heard it all a million times, are hilarious (“Alice’s room was like where everything pink goes to die”; “Black leather sofas can go one of two ways: Coming to America leather sofa or antique leather sofa. Edward’s was the latter”). This goes to the heart of what makes this story so memorable: Not a single word is wasted. At every moment, the reader is entertained.


For those not completely sold on AU-AH fanfics, this story breaks the mold. Even though the two main characters are a bit more sarcastic and witty in this story, parts of the original Edward and Bella are still intact. The central dynamic that made the original Twilight series such an interesting read are still the fuel behind what makes The Porcupine Embrace’s Bella and Edward tick. Neither relates easily to those around them, but somehow they find each other and learn that they fit perfectly with each other. The title of this fic alone should sell you on giving it a shot, but if it doesn’t, the prose and the character development will. It is available on both fanfiction.net and Twilighted.net and currently has 17 chapters posted for your enjoyment. Houroflead updates regularly, and, let’s be honest, her user name is awesome. Read her fic, give her the love (i.e., the reviews) she deserves, and pat yourself on the back for having excellent taste.

Oxymoronic8 writes Innocent, Vigilant, Ordinary, in which she tortures her characters (and her readers) with unrelenting angst. She enjoys playing old-school Nintendo, watching bad action flicks, and forcing her bizarre music taste on unsuspecting civilians. An attorney by day, Oxy has secret hopes of working as a professional napper or beef-jerky connoisseur when she grows up.
The opinions expressed here are our own, and are not made on behalf of Twilighted.
Oxymoronic8 on FF
IVO Thread on Twilighted