Sunday, March 29, 2009

GuestFicRec: Her Love Lives On...Nothing Cidal About It



Romanticidal Edwardian



When I first entered the Twilight Fandom, aka Twilight fan fiction, Eclipse had just been released. The release of that book triggered an onslaught of a certain brand of story: the series continuance. The wedding, the change, the life after entering the vampire world, ect. Most of the good versions of people's interpretations are quite well known.

The story I'm going to introduce to you is not. But it should be.

Ice Makes Passion, by ronOReds, is a sweet, funny, and generally IC continuation after Eclipse. It's rated 'M' but truly it never gets too graphic, and all passionate scenes are kept extremely in character, maintaining Edward and Bella's love and devotion to each other. Even the author herself mentions at one point that she hates to describe the scenes as "smutty" because it just doesn't seem to describe any kind of physical relations that would occure between them. I mean, at least while Bella's still human. But even after she's changed in the story, when longing desire shifts to sweet lust, it's never overly graphic or out of character.

Speaking of change...as anyone who has been in the fandom long enough to have read plenty of 'what happens next?' fics, every single person has had their own interpretation on what the change into a vampire, and more specifically what Bella's change into a vampire, would be like. RonOReds was one of the few that stuck with me. I knew that the entire change scene would probably not be in Breaking Dawn, but there were certain aspects that made so much sense to me at the time, that even while I was reading BD, I kept thinking back to this story and asking myself, "Wait, why isn't this happening?" And then I'd have to remind myself that Ice Makes Passion was merely a fan fic, and not the cornerstone from which the change scene originated. Still, very interesting.

One of my favorite aspects of the story (except if you're a strong Jacob-lover, you won't agree) was the smoothness of which the Jacob situation was handled. It was addressed in the first chapter briefly, but in such a way that it wasn't like the author was brushing Jacob aside, but the fact that he doesn't make an appearance in the story is still understandable and makes sense. I was always very much in awe of the slick grace with which it was handled, and when you read it you'll see what I'm talking about. In fact, she does this numerous times throughout the story. She has talent for taking big issues and scenes, and condensing them in such a way that they don't feel condensed at all, and help the story move on swiftly and smoothly. If you're a writer at all, you'll appreciate the talent behind that skill.

The story is a twenty chapter rollercoaster, taking you to different places and different feelings - all with a grace that is both astounding and natural. The beginning of the story ensues hilaraity (here's a little preview: a bachelorette party and the most adorable drunk Bella ever written, and I mean that) while the middle melts effortlessly into the more serious issues of the wedding, the wedding night, and the change. And the end results in the fated Volturi fight.

Yes, for all those looking for action, a fight with the Volturi does occur in this story! While it's obviously nothing that would ever actually happen in the books (as we've seen) it was still so intriguing and well-written that it's hard not to enjoy. Action scenes are extremely difficult to write, but the author moves through them with a natural swiftness that allows you, the reader, to become involved in it despite the shortness of the actual scene. And if you like the twist at the end, there's even a sequel for you to read. I haven't read all of that, just the first chapter, so I can't vouch for the entire thing but it seems to read just as well as the first one.

Another thing that stuck with me even after the story was another one of the challenges that authors of 'what happens next?' fics encountered - Bella's power. I won't give it away, but it was probably one of the ones I liked the best, mainly because it was just so interesting and full of potential. It wasn't similar at all to what we now know as the canon power of Bella - the protective mental shield - but still valid and good in its own right.

And throughout everything, the author never forgets the most important thing of the entire series, and its foundation - Edward and Bella's love. It carries through the whole thing with just as much purity and beauty as when it started.

The 'what happens next?' fics were all epic tasks, and I believe ronOReds deserves recognition for tackling such a daunting undertaking and delivering it with magnificence and cheer. For those looking for a dark story - don't look here.

Just for fair warning though, I will add in minor infractions in the story that may bother people: One, grammatical mistakes are made, especially near the beginning of the story. Don't take that the wrong way though! None of them are truly atrocious nor do they make the story unreadable - really, the only people who would be affected are us grammar Nazis. And also, a slight misunderstanding in the vampire canon is made in the fourth and fifth chapters - but honestly, the misunderstanding doesn't actually influence any change in the story and it's also done for hilarity purposes. So just be prepared to roll with it and enjoy the laughs.

Now that you've been informed of the amazingness (and equally warned of minor un-amazingness) what are you waiting for? Go read! As this story came out very soon after Eclipse, it became buried under the onslaught of fan fictions rolling in. Because of that, in never achieved the popularity it deserved, in my opinion. Let's make up for it now =]

And as us Temptation podcasters say: Don't do drugs, review!




The Romanticidal Edwardian is the author of many fanfictions, including "A World Without Sound". You can hear her delightful self on the Temptation Twilight Podcast where the neverending Edward vs. Jacob "discussion" between her and Rialle never gets old.

1 comment:

  1. thanks for the rec---I'll check it out, toots! Halo

    ReplyDelete

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