Sunday, March 29, 2009

GuestFicRec: Ficsterian Wishes



GinnyW



As some of you know, I run a LiveJournal community called The Twilight Enabler. It was started for purely selfish reasons: I wanted my friends to have a place to recommend stories to me. Though, I quickly found that, in general, if my friends read a story that they like that much, then they would simply email to tell me. And then a miracle happened and suddenly my little LiveJournal community had members who weren’t just people who I’d known from Harry Potter or people who I knew really well. And as more people joined, more people began participating, more people began making recommendations, and suddenly there were stories that I’d not read or heard about before. The Enabler is how I was hooked-up with this little gem.

Paved With Good Intentions by 4JACE.

My first love in the fanfiction world was alternate universe. The kind that is that the story changes somewhere along the way. Whether Bella never jumped off the cliff in New Moon and Edward never came back, or whether Edward actually did bite her that first day in school, I didn’t care, I loved them all. My second love was the all human genre. So unique, so much originality, so much possibility.

This story combines those two loves.

The summary tells us very little about this story. In its most basic form, Bella has the opportunity to make a wish, and for once she thinks more about what Edward wants than herself. However, every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Every choice has a consequence. Things never turn out the way that they expect them to. And nothing is ever truly predictable.

Oh, and of course, there is the small matter that Bella never actually asks Edward what he wants or consults anyone that she should have.

The story is angsty and emotional with cliffhangers from hell. Which, truly, that is the key formula for fanfiction, is it not? Combine that with the fact that the story deals with a concept that is incredibly complex, but the author makes it simple. The whys and wherewithals don’t truly matter. It is how every situation affects the characters… that is what is important, and the author doesn’t skimp on any of that.

Bella is the epitome of the character that I believe we were meant to see portrayed in the books. Edward is her world, and she’s selfless, giving, and will sacrifice anything for him. And to grant him the one thing that she truly believes that he wants above all else, she is willing to give up her entire world.

It will be as if I never existed.

Although wouldn’t the price seem negligible if Edward would’ve been able to make those words real? As I said, every action has a consequence.

I am one of those people who believe that there are very few original plots out there, what matters is the way that the author spins the story, how well they know their characters, and how well they can relate the story to the reader. Cliché may be cliché, trite, done and done again… but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be great.

We’ve all heard of ‘Edward as a human stories.’ They are a relatively common plot device. This story is reminiscent of Only Human by Amethyst Jackson and The Antidote by jandco. However, it very much stands on its own with its unique twists and turns.

The author knows her characters, she understands how they think, how they feel, and she relates that to the reader.

It is the storyteller that makes a story worth the time and effort it takes to read… and this story is worth the investment. Bella’s interactions with Carlisle alone make this story worth the read.




GinnyW, besides being an avid Ficsterian and Smellyia's beloved Snermione pusher, does write a bit and might be known for a little story called "Coming to Terms". When not PM stalking or being lovely in gerneral, she is pushing her main homeslice head first into the Twilight Fandom. Crack never looked so good.

2 comments:

  1. Yes! I get to leave the first comment on my mentor's blog! I read this after Ginny told me to - I always do what she says. It is good and heart wrenching and the balance between Bella's old and new life with Edward is painful to feel with her. Glad to see it recommended here, because it definately deserves more attention. Oh and Ginny - you are smart and pretty.

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  2. Hello-wolvesandvamps here.

    I found this story on Twilighted in February and instantly fell in love with it. 4Jace has created a intriguing AU and it is very well-written. Happy to see the shout-out about it on here!

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