QuickieFickies: Cullen Incarcerated Winners

Cullens Incarcerated Contest Winners

Jailward? BigHouseElla? Criminalice? Guardsper? Justice has been served, or has it? Guilty or not guilty? We want your jail stories: heart-wrenching, smut-filled or crack. Bring everything you've got. Will our inmates find love behind the bars? Or will solitary confinement drive them over the edge?

Below are the winners for the Cullens Incarcerated Contest, which was hosted by WA Rehab through December and January. The 14 entries were posted anonymously. Please take a moment to enjoy some quick brilliance from the winning entrants!

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First Place Winner:

Desolation Row

by

Jocelyn Torrent

| Drama / Tragedy | AH | Bella Swan / Rosalie Hale | Rated: M/R | 17,267 words | Written for: Cullen Incarcerated | Published: 2-21-10

Summary:

Winner of the Cullens Incarcerated contest. Accused of murdering her lover, Bella is sent to prison in the 1930's. Her cellmate is known simply as The Bloody Bride and seems proud of the title. What will become of this?

Recommendation:

This is a harrowing tale of two women whose lives have been destroyed by the men they loved and trusted, it’s a story about female empowerment and an unexpected friendship that could save them both.

~Written by Alitriona~

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Second Place Winner:

Justice Is Blind

by

Enjorous

| | AH | Alice / Rosalie | Rated: M/R | 12,948 words | Written for: Cullens Incarcerated | Published: 2-3-10

Summary:

Entry for the Cullens Incarcerated Contest. Justice is blind, isn’t it? It may be, but is that always a good thing? If someone doesn’t remember her crime at all, can she truly be guilty? If someone did it for a good reason, can she truly be innocent?

Recommendation:

This story is a fantastic look at the effects of prison life. Alice, a supposedly blood-thirsty murderer, enters her cell with an innocence that the reader just knows won't last. She can't remember committing the crime, and her cell-mate Rosalie (known as the Bridal Butcher) committed her crimes as revenge for being brutalized (a nice nod to canon Rose/Royce). But, as Rosalie wisely points out to Alice, the circumstances rarely matter in the justice system. A really thought-provoking read.

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Third Place Winner:

Stereo Alchemy

by

MrsKatyCullen

| Tragedy | AH | Bella / Edward | Rated: M/R | 4621 words | Written for: Cullen Incarcerated | Published: 2-22-10

Summary:

24 hours, and asphyxiation calls her forward. Will the sudden burst of feelings change the fate of Bella Swan, and take her away from the consequences of death row? Third place in "Cullens Incarcerated"!

Recommendation:

Stereo Alchemy is a story about a woman who sacrificed the life of her own daughter and therefore her own life to escape the abusive partner. Her life was about loss, suffer and pain until she met one person who saw her for who she truly was and showed her what true love can be.

~Written by Detochkina~

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QuickieFickies: Indies First Time Writers Challenge

The Indies First Time Writers Challenge Quickie Fickies!

Amongst the crazy fall contest calendar there was a special little challenge, near and dear to my heart, The Indies First Time Writers Challenge. The objective was simple, lure readers who wanted to write out of the woodwork. The rules? A one shot about 'first experience' by a writer who had never published fan fiction before. No stipulation on rating, pairings, genre, it was all greenfield. We wanted to create a level playing field to lure people out. And lure we did.

There were more than forty stories submitted, with thirty making it to the voting and judging round. What was surprising was the diversity of the entries. There were a lot of Edward and Bella, but there were a lot of other characters too, including some that you don't hear much about. I wanted to call out a few of the more surprising characters or pairings to give you a taste of the unique takes people came up with. I also recommend you check out the c2 of submitted stories, odds are there is a pairing in there just right for you: The First Time Writers Challenge C2.

We'll be sponsoring another one of these First Time Writers Challenges later in the year, so all you aspiring writers, start thinking. In the mean time go read, enjoy, review. There are some truly lovely stories by some readers you should really get to know.

And don't forget - this is your chance to recommend your favorite Quickie Fickies too! Submit yours here!

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HMonster4

Recommends

Setting Her Free

by

Bendingmirrors

| General | Canon | Renee / Charlie | Rated: M/R | 5,502 words | Written for: The Indies First Time Writers Challenge | Published: 10/01/2009

Summary:

An entry for the "Indies First-Time Writer Challenge" Contest. AU. Renee reminisces about her time with Charlie in Forks in the 70s while watching Bella’s plane take-off as she goes to live with her father.

Recommendation:

Ah Renee, often maligned or all together forgotten. It's so easy to discount her role in the Twilight saga. She put Bella on a plane to Forks, and short of a few phone calls and brief cameos in Eclipse and Breaking Dawn, we hardly see her. How did she feel about putting Bella on a plane back to the place she'd fled? Was it hard to let her go?

Bendingmirrors does a lovely job on her first time out - pulling out the back story of Charlie and Renee, including how they 'connected,' fell in love, and ultimately fell apart. It's a heart wrenching view of a mother's love and sacrifice.

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HMonster4

Recommends

The Corner of Your Heart

by

TheHeartOfLifeIsGood

| Friendship / General | AH | Rosalie / Edward | Rated: M/R | 7,473 words | Written for: The Indies First Time Writers Challenge | Published: 10/20/2009

Summary:

Rosalie and Edward have been friends since childhood, but he has a new girl in his life and Rosalie’s feelings for him have changed. A story about the shifting tides of friendship. AH.

Recommendation:

Oh Rosalie, always wanting, always waiting, never getting. So many of us have mixed impressions of Rose, especially when it comes to Edward. In this one shot, we are introduced to a Rose that isn't too far off of canon. She's beautiful, smart, and appears to have it all. Or does she?

I can't say too much without giving away the plot, but this story is very much about how friendships morph and evolve over time, and how your first love will always own a portion of your heart. It's a lovely, bittersweet read - even if you don't like to read non-canon couples. Trust me!

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HMonster4

Recommends

Becoming Jane

by

LoreliD

| Horror / Drama | Canon | Jane / Aro | Rated: M/R | 11,712 words | Written for: The Indies First Time Writers Challenge | Published: 10/23/2009

Summary:

As Jane burns at the stake convicted of witchcraft; she vows vengeance upon her accuser. Once she joins the Volturi, Jane’s sweet revenge is within reach - M for violence & dark themes

Recommendation:

We know her as a malevolent little vampire, but what about the human Jane? What made her who she was, and how did she come to live with the Volturi?

This is a tangled, dark tale that delves deep into the warped psyche of a selfish teenager who thinks of only one person besides herself, her beloved brother Alec. This is horror in the best sense of the word, and will give you all new perspective on what it means to burn...the question is, burn from what?

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Fic Rec: CDunbar Gives You Afterlife

Thatisastory
Afterlife - M/R
Hurt/Comfort/Romance
23 Chapters, 83,670 Words
8/24/2009 - Completed
[ FFN ] [ Twilighted ]

Becoming a vampire was supposed to mean a new beginning for Bella. Instead tragedy is visited upon the Cullens, and Bella is neither alive, nor dead, left to keep a promise she wishes she'd never made. This is her Afterlife.

cdunbar's

Let me preface this glowing report of 'Afterlife' by saying, this story does not start off on a happy foot. Like every Disney movie I've ever seen, heartbreak and tears mark the beginning. Mainly Bella's heartbreak and tears (and possibly a few of your own). The first chapter opens onto a charming scene of Alice picking out vacation destinations while Edward and Bella lounge around on a normal, lazy evening. Bella has already been turned into a vampire at this point (sans hybrid spawn). Their quiet evening is suddenly interrupted by the appearance of... (*insert dramatic music here*) the Volturi. The second chapter begins in the classic styling of the majority of vamp flicks, with the two opposing sides fighting, but this time, our team doesn't win. Good does not triumph evil, and Edward and Alice are killed. In one fell swoop, the red-caped villains destroy two pairs of soul mates, and the lives of the Cullens will never be the same.

The story picks up five years later in chapter three. Jasper vanished soon after Alice's death, unable to handle the emotions coming from the family on top of his own. And Bella is immobile. She sits on top of the bookcase in what is now her room, listless, lifeless, and above all else, unable to forget. The rest of the family move around her, prodding her to respond and rejoin life, but to no avail. The only time she moves is to hunt, but even then it's just enough to placate whoever is with her. The spark that gets her to move, however, the thing that sets her off is news of Jasper and his dramatic lifestyle change, which has angered the local vampires in the town he now hunts in, San... wait for it... Antonio! Yes, he's back in Texas. Good ol' Tejas, where suicidally depressed vampires go to anger the locals and have a hit taken out on them.

That's where my summary of the story ends because I want you, the reader, to discover what happens next. (It's really, really good, in case you were wondering.)

Here's why I recommend it: the friendship, and later the romance, between Bella and Jasper after losing their significant others is actually believable! (I know! I was surprised, too.) I totally bought their budding friendship, which started out in tentative steps toward comradery, and then later when it turned into something deeper. But whatever their feelings grew to be toward each other, it never eclipsed the original love they felt for Alice and Edward, which I really appreciated. Though I might be Team Belsper, I would have found Bella suddenly loving Jasper more than Edward a red 'X' click kind of story.

Where so many stories that have used this plot before failed, this story succeeds. It's a wonderful story of overcoming soul-crushing sorrow to find the will to live again, and I love it. The flashbacks that Bella has of her and Edward throughout the story made me actually tear up at one point, so be warned, you might cry. It will make your heart ache, but I think that just makes for a better HEA. And while the story is rated M, there is no outright explicit sex. (Bummer, I know, but I think having it would have ruined the believability of Bella and Jasper's growing feelings.) Thankfully the author has started a sequel, titled 'Vie', so *fingers crossed* maybe there will be some soon.

In short, if you like Bella and Jasper together and have ever wanted to see what would have happened had Edward and Alice been taken out of the equation, this is the story for you. I highly, highly recommend it and can't wait to see what happens in the sequel. (If you know me at all, you'll know I'm serious because I usually avoid sequels at all costs.)

Now go, read and enjoy.

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CDunbar is the author of Resident Geek and some other stories that have little to no consequence on the Twilight fandom as a whole, but the admins of the Ficster allow her to think she's important enough to rec stories and such on here, and that people actually care about her opinion. She's also a co-host on Temptation, a Twilight podcast, which is currently on hold until the hosts' lives calm down into some semblance of order.

Complete Discernment

Hear ye! Hear ye! We're bringing you a new, regular feature. What is this, you ask? Well, we've been reccing fics here at TLYDF since January now, and over the course of the year, several of these WIP beauties have finished up with the big "COMPLETE" stamp, so to give them another hurrah (and you the chance to happy-sigh over reading finished fic), here's our new feature, Complete Discernment.

On March 2, Changing Sides by EclipsedbyJacob  completed  
Recommended By: CDunbar on January 18, 2009

Summary

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Bella works for the Volturi as Chief Interrogator. She passes her nights toying with the souls of the lost, hearing their confessions before wiping them away. When she meets the mysterious Cullens, will she give up everything for them?

What She Told You Before

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What I love is that even as you read about Bella doing all of these awful things and acting in a completely opposite manner than how she's portrayed in the books, the author writes her in a way that she still resembles the Bella we all know. She's just a twisted, lost Bella who needs to find her place in the world, or rather, needs to find the person who can show her the place. You care about her, even when she's at her darkest.

And Why Now You Should Read the Whole Thing!

For none other than the fact that Bella kicks Volturi ass. It's fantastic. But if that's not your thing, you should do it just for the Epilogue. ;)

On May 9, Bittersweet Hurt by Minerva-One  completed  
Recommended By: Angstgoddess003 on December 28, 2008

Summary

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Carlisle/Edward. This story examines the reasons why Carlisle made Edward a vampire - and the subsequent effect on their lives - the desire, the chaos, the hurt, the regret.

What She Told You Before

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Bittersweet Hurt is an intriguing portrayal of two vampires seeking affectionate companionship and salvation from the agonizingly heinous vampirism that plagues their lost souls.

It's also pretty fucking sexy.

And Why Now You Should Read the Whole Thing!

Bittersweet Hurt ended true to all canon points. It wasn't a sappy, lovey dovey ending, and I DID tear up. Truthfully, Minerva chose a shocking and unique point in which to end this story, and did so beautifully. It could still easily be a canon secret, and Edward's love for Bella is never trivialized as it can be in some slash or non-canon pairing fics. Instead, we walk away feeling exactly what the title suggests. A bittersweet hurt.