Sunday Selections for March 14, 2010

Dark Games &Twisted Minds by katinki

A familiar foe has returned. A game of sorts, a game that has been played many times over, a game that taunts Edward's guilt-ridden sense of humanity. This time he must win, for good. It has to end now. Vamp/AU/OOC/M for Violence/Lang/Themes/Sex

I found this story actually while I was just roaming about, searching for a new Edward/Bella vamp story to read. Little did I know that I picked a story that has been nominated and has made it to the final round of the Indies. In THREE catagories, no less.

DGTM is simply a wonderful and original story that really has set the bar in Twilight fan-fiction for those stories that keep you clicking chapter after chapter, all the while you're sitting on the edge of your seat. This story is original because katinki takes the elements we liked so much out of the first book, and twists them in with a few of her own in such a unique way that in some ways, it's better than Twilight. GASP!!

Our favorite bad boy nomad James has been playing a game for years with one Edward Cullen. Edward..'owes' James..something, and James is the relentless and sadistic bastard we all love to hate. Tragically, Bella is unknowingly caught up in a game that no human has ever survived.

I can't write a good enough brief of the story plot because I simply don't want to give anything away. This story is just amazing, and the author is a brilliant and wonderful writer. The maturity that she has given her characters is what I really have to appreciate, and the fact that she has created a Bella I actually like. Vulnerable, yet strong in her own right. Not only that, but I find myself simply enthralled with her James. He's just such a..bastard!  katinki has developed well rounded characters and her writing paints a very vivid picture.

I simply love it.  DGTM is a WIP, so go caught up. I'm waiting with baited breath.


Maelyn recommends These Dreams by jbluvs2sing

It's been 3 years since Edward left Bella in the woods...she is moving on but is still plagued by nightmares from time to time. Will someone from her past help her get through her difficult times? What dangers lie ahead for her? Will her dreams come true?

Due to the pulling of fic's on FFn, the author is prepared in case her fic becomes one of them and has put These Dreams on Twilighted.

This fic is more the story of friendship than anything else. Different from most fics, the main characters are not the romantic couple of the fic, but rather two people who have stumbled upon each other after many years of sight unseen.

Set three years after the fateful birthday scene, Bella and Jasper run into each other at university – she a student and he a professor. This allows the two to reconcile, Jasper giving his apologies and Bella her forgiveness for his lapse in control.

While they put that part of their past behind them, it still haunts them. Jasper is trying to deal with his control and self-imposed separation from Alice. Bella is trying to recover from her ordeal with Edward and come to terms with the possibility of seeing him again and what that may mean for her, for them.

The letter that Bella writes ‘to Edward’ is short and poignant. It gives an accounting of how she felt then and now. No anger, just love and an attempt at closure for what happened in the past.

Now Edward here is one of the few I can tolerate. He actually realizes he was an ass and was wrong to leave her, but feels there is nothing he can do and that he’d lost her by now. He is barely getting through each day, his despair is so strong. When he does hear about Jasper and Bella, of course, his first thought is joy and his second jealousy. Edward, Emmett and Carlisle rush to Jasper and Bella to help them confront Victoria and her little crew.

He accepts Jasper’s ruling that Bella needs to heal and become stronger still before he can see her, but of course he has to listen and watch her every change he gets. It’s hard for him to sit back and watch, but he does it because he realizes that Jasper is right.

When things do finally come to a close and he sees Bella (while awake), it’s not all sunshine and butterflies again immediately. She makes him work for it and I just have to give her kudos for that. I love that she doesn’t roll over and just say it’s okay that he treated her like shit. I also love that he comes to accept that she’s an intelligent, mature adult who can make her own decisions. It’s hard for him to accept some of them, but they actually have mature discussions and then she decides. It’s a beautiful thing and I’m actually happy when I finally see them together in the end.

But really, it’s the friendship between Bella and Jasper that really sets this fic apart. The way they are both so protective of each other, and give each other the emotional support they need to deal and move on from their issues, is beautiful to see. They help each other become strong enough to go back to their mates and be happy. They love each other and develop a very special bond that is completely platonic.

I can’t stress enough how great a fic this is. Whether you are a Jasper or Edward fan, I think you will find something amazing in this fic.