I’ve been hearing a lot of people saying they can’t quite read Twilight fan fic after the bombshell was dropped last week. Understandable. *hugs fandom* No matter how well we separate actors from their characters, it’s different when you read. You form pictures in your head and you have to open your emotions if you want to enjoy the story so that makes keeping reality out difficult.

I’ve thrown a few stories together that might help you ease back into the swing of fan fiction. Hopefully one of them will fit your needs. Hang in there. Keep trying. Help each other. Take it back.

The Rebound by WhatsMyNomDePlume

This is a little two-shot WhatsMyNomDePlume wrote when she had trouble sleeping and when she had a long airport layover. Edward has been left at the altar and Bella is one of the wedding guests. I really enjoyed it. So, yeah. *clears throat* I’m calling it fic therapy.

Bad Penny by elusivetwilight
In the sultry summer heat, Bella finds a dirty penny. Can she expect more in exchange from the person who finds her? One Shot written for the Fun With Your Clothes On Contest. AUAH E&B

In this one shot, Bella is seventeen, Edward is in college. They meet over the summer. It always stuck with me and I actually continued it in my head a little. Okay a lot.

Water Landing by camoozle

I rec’d this WIP here not too long ago but it’s EPOV High school angst-ish, maybe it’s what some of you need.

OR maybe it’s time to try some slash. No girls involved.

Raw and Rosy by tuesdaymidnight
Jasper Hale hates his high school rival Edward Cullen with a passion. What happens when Jasper discovers Edward’s little secret? Spank!Fic. AH/AU/OOC. Rated M. Contains mature content.

Go on. Give it a try. You might like it. Don’t be afraid. (OMG it’s so hot.) Note: I prefer my slash to be more p0rn than plot. (TMI) I know others that like more romance. coughDebbcough So if you have any recs of that sort please leave them in the comments.

I’m on the lookout for EPOV fics. One shots, multi-chap, angst, comedy, drama, WIP. Bring it. Please please please tell me what you’ve got in the comments. Even if it’s just the title. It’s what I need to read right now. *Carol Burnett ear tug*

Annie

I did something recently that I’ve not done in months. I chose to read a WIP. Yeap. I rarely start new ones, because I’m a patient girl, I can wait for it to be completed, right? Nope. I started this one because it’s been on my Favorites TBR list for over a year, and thought, What the hell?  The author is Kiya Raven, and her story is The Diva Diaries, and it TOTALLY OWNS ME NOW.

This story reminded me of why I fell in love with fan fiction in the first place. The characters have my full attention, and I haven’t even finished reading all of the chapters posted yet. I am just completely blown away by this.  I can just imagine what my life will be like, when I am caught up, and have to wait for updates like everyone else. Hell, I’m sure.

Let me try to explain what is makes me love these characters so much. First, the writing. INCREDIBLE. The author is basically telling two stories at once, an amazing feat, because it involves past and present timelines. Bella and Edward are two gifted students, studying acting at the prestigious drama school called The Grove in New York. They are young and very insecure, but learning their craft. They are also in the process of driving each other totally crazy, because neither one of them know what to do about this insane attraction to each other. Edward is a brooding ass, a majority of the time. Like 99% of the time. I mean he reads her diary, for God’s sake. On accident, mind you. Whatever. Jerk. I am digressing… Bella is a self-deprecating virgin that lives to please anyone and everyone for attention. This is all told in Bella’s POV, which has me laughing and crying, sometimes at the same time. Favorite line so far:

 ”My smile couldn’t be more smuggy, if I bought it from Smuggy McSmugster from the Smug store in Smugville.”

Why do I continue to read about them? Because when they are performing for the first time, playing Romeo and Juliet no less, I am mesmerized.  I am not an actor/performer, but when I read what they are feeling and experiencing when they are on stage together, I totally get the acting bug. I want them to BE together, but Edward just won’t just let it happen. Stupid idiot. Uggh!

 Edward: “You’re doing it again. Looking at me. Heightening my weird.”

This man in white anything. Seriously, unreal… t-shirt, wrinkled button down, wife-beater. Makes no difference. *whimper*

Now in present time, Bella agrees to do a play with the famous Broadway director, Aro Fiori, in the starring role. Only the BIG problem is it’s been three years since she’s seen Edward, and he is playing opposite her. Why now? After all of this time does he just show up, ruining her peace? Will he give her the answers to why he left her in the first place? Can they create that magic on the stage, like they used to? God, let’s hope so, because the UST in this story is killing me.

 ”You need to make some noise, Bella,” Aro says, sounding frustrated. “Move more. Nothing you’re doing is reading from out here. Make it bigger.”

I unfreeze and try to do my job.

You’re Sarah. You’re in love. He tried to leave you, but he stayed. You made him stay. Now you’re making love. It’s just acting.

I start by wrapping my arms around him and pulling him further into my neck. He grunts, and I groan loudly, lifting my hips and arching my back. It’s fake and corny, but at this stage I have no idea what the hell I’m doing. I’m just trying to get through it.

I grab his ass and push him against me, panting in his ear before licking the lobe.

“Fucking hell, Bella,” he whispers, exhaling hard against my shoulder.

“I believe the line is, ‘Oh, Sarah, I love you’,” I admonish before moaning loudly and kissing his neck.

Before I know what I’m doing, I reach over his shoulders and grab his t-shirt, pulling it over his head and tossing it on the floor.

“Uh…so I guess we’re talking my clothes off,” he mutters. “I thought we were just marking this through.”

“What can I say? Apparently nothing I’m doing is reaching the audience. I’m pretty sure getting you naked will reach them.”

It feels good to be aggressive. Makes me feel more in control. I can disconnect. Make it about bodies and skin, and not thoughts and feelings.

More fake noises pour from my mouth as I put my hands on his chest and run them over his familiar, yet foreign shape.

All thoughts of Sam fly straight out the damn window.

Oh…Jesus. Three years.

It’s been three years since I’ve touched him like this.

Semi-naked Edward.

Even better than I remember.

Has he been working out? Did he always have this many muscles?

God, he feels incredible. More incredible that he used to, if that’s possible.

Dammit, why can’t I stop touching him?

I sigh and try to concentrate.

Keep it together, Swan, for God’s sake. It’s a scene. Keep reminding yourself of that.

I’m so distracted by his bare chest that I suddenly have no idea what the hell I’m supposed to say. Sarah’s gone bye-bye.

“Is it your line?” I ask breathlessly.

He kisses me again, mouth still closed, but I can sense he wants to open it. He’s trying to get the scene done, but at the same time attempting to respect me, not wanting to overstep our new, freshly-agreed-upon boundaries.

Still, I can’t help noticing how breathless he is, and how every time I touch him, he makes a sound that sounds involuntary and desperate.

It makes me feel powerful.

I run my hands down his stomach before reaching around to his back and fingering the waistband of his jeans. He mumbles something that sounds vaguely like, “Jesus motherfucking Christ.”

His head drops onto my shoulder and the sheets on either side of my head bunch up as his hands curl into fists. All of his muscles tense and I think he stops breathing.

“Is there a reason why you’ve stopped?” Aro asks, bewildered. He turns to Alice. “Why have they stopped?”

Edward still isn’t breathing.

“Edward?” I whisper.

He doesn’t move, but I feel a gust of warm breath as he exhales against my neck, and I hear a muffled, “What?”

“Are you okay?”

He pauses and sighs.

“Yep. Fine.”

“Is it your line?”

He tenses.

“Is what my line?”

“Is it your turn to say a line?”

“Oh. Uh…”

“I think it’s your turn.”

I can feel the tension in him, tight and uncomfortable.

He lifts his head from my shoulder and looks down at me, his jaw tense.

“Bella, I have no fucking clue what my name is right now, let alone what lines I’m supposed to be saying, okay? Let’s just get through this damn blocking. We’ll figure out the dialogue later.”

He sounds angry, but I know he’s just frustrated. This situation is weird. I’m frustrated too.

“Okay. Sure,” I say as I wrap my legs around his waist and pull him against me, grinding roughly against his pelvis. I gasp when I feel him through his jeans. He lets out a strangled groan and pulls away, embarrassed.

He’s hard.

Really hard.

“I’m sorry,” he murmurs, sliding down my body so that I’m pressed against his stomach instead of his groin. “I…Jesus, Bella, I’m really trying to think of dead puppies here but…”

“It’s harder than you thought?”

“You have no idea.”

“I think I do.”

“Are you trying to be funny?”

“No, because if I start laughing now I don’t think I’ll be able to stop.”

“Good because getting an inconvenient erection is…”

“Inconvenient?”

He groans and drops his head again.

“This is fucking ridiculous. What the hell were we thinking?”

“We weren’t.”

“Obviously.”

“Less chat, more acting please, children,” Aro bellows. “Edward, you’ve stopped moving. Do I need to explain how to make love to a woman? Because although I’ve never had the pleasure, I’m fairly certain there’s thrusting involved.”

Edward sighs and starts fake-thrusting again, and even though I know he’s trying to keep his erection away from me, I feel it graze the inside of my thigh.

“Shit. Sorry,” he says, adjusting his angle again.

“It’s fine,” I assure him. But it’s not. I want it. How could I not?

“I didn’t mean to.”

“I know.”

“I’m trying to not be an asshole.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I mumble, because really, what else am I going to say? “How dare you get aroused when you’re simulating sex with me? The nerve of you!” Never mind the fact that it’s wetter than a slip’n'slide in my panties right now. He doesn’t need to know that.

It’s not as if either of us can help it.

Our physical attraction was never something we could help. Or deny.

It was one of our major problems.

Every other part of our relationship was full of games and half-truths, but our bodies? They never lied. They wanted each other. Craved each other with unrelenting desperation. Even when we were at our most dysfunctional, our bodies knew the simple, undeniable truth – sexually, we were spectacular.

When we touched each other we didn’t need to hide, or explain; we just needed to feel. All the other bullshit was momentarily forgotten, and sometimes, that was the problem. All too often we gave in to what our bodies wanted without sorting out all of our other crap, and more often than not, we’d end up regretting it. Our sexual craving was loud and powerful, shouting down our reason and sense, and when it demanded to be satisfied, despite the consequences…well, that’s when things got…uncomfortable.

That’s what we are right now: uncomfortable. But this time it’s not because we’re letting our bodies do what they want, it’s because we’re denying them and trying to filter our natural passion through the characters we’re playing instead of just letting it be. Letting us be.

Getting Edward naked will definitely get the audience’s attention, for sure.  That, my friends, is my second reason and why this story won Inspired Fan Fic award for Best UST.  *fanning self* And of course, after last week’s bombshell, aptly named by Miss Annie, it did NOT get unnoticed by myself, this story’s “connection” to the fact that Bella and Edward are young actors trying to be in a relationship, without anyone really knowing about it, and kind of failing miserably at it. Believe it or not, I started this, like a day or two, right before the sh*t hit the fan. I’m weird like that…

Is there a story, WIP or completed, that you’ve read recently that reminded you of why you are reading fan fiction in the first place? Inquiring minds want to know. J (that would be me, if you haven’t guess it yet)

Katiebird