First draft of fanfic rec’s somehow turned into a piece for the Twilight Examiner. Giving this another shot. I studied writing in college and my professors were always irked with my tendency to go on tangents (coincidentally, one of my former professors is a writer famous for his tangential style—double standard?). It’s true. I go off. I think it’s what made me a decent stand-up and good for Twitter. It’s pretty extemporaneous and that’s what I’m good at. If I have to plan…well, we all know I’m not good at planning. Off the cuff, that’s the thing! I know I am KStew411 and all, and I know sometimes I am hard on The Sparkly One, but since this is a Roblog and I am having extemporaneous thoughts, I will share them. ROB LOOKS HOT IN PERIOD CLOTHES. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look better than in these recent Bel Ami pics. Previously, I thought his Edward pretty was his best pretty, but now I think, even with the wee bit of poundage he added, that the Bel Ami pretty is the best. He looks grown up. And sexy. I have an ongoing discussion about Rob’s ability to sex me up. I am usually distracted from his sexy by my desire to iron his shirts and fold his clothes. But in the Bel Ami clothes…he’s walking different. He’s standing different. The head, it is tilted at a new and rakish angle. And some of this is probably character-driven, but I LIKE IT. I feel like Bel Ami Rob could pin me to a wall and make me want it bad. For once, I don’t want to do his laundry, I want to do HIM. There’s a virile streak in The Sparkly One I haven’t seen before and I want more of it. Preferably, in period dress.
“Eye Contact” by Silver Sniper of Night
This is a different story, recommended by PunkyBellyJelly. Bella is a twenty-year-old college student working on a degree in special education. Edward is a twenty-year-old genius already pursuing his master’s in mechanical engineering. Except Edward is also autistic. Or, more specifically, he has Asperger’s Syndrome, which is a form of Autism. This story is a lot to digest. The author does a great job annotating chapters with terms and articles that explain the specifics of Asperger’s, but what it boils down to is that Edward doesn’t feel emotions like everyone else. So how can he and Bella be in love? Well that’s the crux of the story. I have a cousin with Asperger’s and Sniper completely nails the way an “Aspie” thinks and speaks. Edward is not dumb, he’s not slow, he’s not retarded in any way. In many, many ways, Edward is a million times more intelligent than everyone else. But Asperger’s affects how one processes emotions. It’s not that Edward doesn’t feel, it’s not that he isn’t sincerely in love with Bella. It’s just that he will never experience those feelings in the way the Bella does. For Edward, everything is logical. Because he likes how Bella makes him feel, because he admires her intellect and her taste in music—as well as her smile—it is logical that he wants her for his girlfriend. And then because he misses her when she is not present and because he wants to spend more time with her, it is logical that he loves her. It’s all there; he just arrives at the conclusion a bit differently. As for Bella, she is aware of the basic difference in understanding between her and Edward, and she is aware of and nervous about how that will be taken by the outside world. A lot of people mistakenly think those afflicted with Asperger’s, or any form of autism, can’t feel emotions, but that’s not the case. They do feel, and in many ways are super sensitive to emotions. They just don’t always understand them. My cousin, for instance, can’t lie. He literally cannot lie. He doesn’t understand dishonesty or why anyone would ever tell anything but the truth. Even the concept of telling a white lie to protect someone’s feelings is beyond him. Like Edward, my cousin has assigned all feelings with a number to process how they will affect someone. Happiness is a 1, sadness is an 8, anger is a 10, and rage is 11. He understands the numbers and that helps him understand people’s reactions. Edward processes in much the same way. Edward is essentially a high-functioning Aspie. He can drive, take care of himself, cook, do all the things he would need to do to function in the real world. However, Esme has sheltered him his entire life and Edward is really lacking in socializing skills. Enter Bella to help him learn how to interact with his peers. This is a fascinating story, an unusual and complex love story, and a challenging read. I have enjoyed it for its unique perspective on love and how we define one of the most mysterious and indefinable of all the human emotions. Maybe not for everyone, but if you’re up to the challenge, give “Eye Contact” a shot.
Another rec, after the jump…
“Caravaggio” by meimei42
“Caravaggio” is also a challenging read, but for an entirely different reason. This is another of Bestie’s recommendations and after I read it I was like, “WTF Bestie!” I specifically asked her if this story was angsty, because I am trying to cut back on the angst in my fanfic. And she said, “No, it’s not really angsty.” So I read it, and guess what? IT’S ANGSTY. It’s also very good. We have a high school senior Bella and an early-twenties Edward, and yes, the age difference is discussed and I’m fine with how it’s handled. It’s realistic. Bella is also pretty mature, and Edward has a tendency to be a spazz. There’s balance. “Caravaggio” is about artist Edward painting a portrait of Bella for her “keeping up with the Joneses” (or in this case, the Stanleys) parents, Charlie and Renee. For some reason, the Swans are obsessed with their image and are living well beyond their means. Bella is much less interested in maintaining the façade and she falls in pretty easily with Edward and his arty friends. As per usual, Edward has some secretive past and un-described mommy issues which lead to friction with Bella. She is strong and pretty confident and isn’t going to waste her time with someone who doesn’t know what he wants, which she tells Edward repeatedly. And of course Edward spazzes on what is pretty much Bella’s only commandment. I like this story for its artistic roots (Caravaggio is the early-Baroque painter famous for making a lot of money on boring still lifes and portraits when his real art was dark tortured scenes of martyrdom and suffering—there’s a parallel to Edward there). Though it hasn’t been blatant discussion yet, there’s a lot of subtext about the nature of The Muse and The Muse’s relationship to The Artist. It’s interesting and subtle. And the story is pleasantly lemony, too, which helps with the angst. I need something to balance the heartfail, you know? And this story will deliver heartfail. I’ve heard a lot of people jumped off the bandwagon after this story took an out of character, out of canon turn, but though I was shouting at my computer screen, I did like the twist. I really didn’t see it coming (though in retrospect, Bestie totally ruined it for me). With CWIA wrapped up, “Caravaggio” is filling my angst-niche quite well these days.
Celebrate KStew411′s new found love for Bel Ami Rob by reading MORE FF! What? They have lots of sex in Bel Ami. It will get you in the mood.
