Sunday Selections for May 9, 2010

Merina Green recommends Eve, the Apple of My Eye by bethaboo

The year is 1921. Esme Platt Evenson throws herself off a cliff, and Carlisle Cullen finds and changes her. Can she ever learn to forgive him for damning her for all eternity? Canon with a dash of AU. A re-envisioning of Esme and Carlisle's story.

This fic by bethaboo was just recently completed in April. It's an Esme/Carlisle fic, and before you Esme haters flounce it, PLEASE give it a chance! It's not all sunshine and fluff. It tells the story of what happened after Carlisle changed Esme, and it follows her through her first year or so. It centers around Esme, but quite a bit of it is from Carlisle's POV. Even when we're not seeing things through his eyes, he's often in HER thoughts because, well, she's just a little bit upset with him.

I really liked this fic because Esme, in canon, is always portrayed as the perfect wife and mother. bethaboo, however, addresses a very important fact - Carlisle changed Esme because he loved her, but Esme was a suicide. Esme wanted to die. She didn't just WANT to die - she took steps to make it happen. And our kind, gentle mother-figure wakes up a confused newborn, which quickly morphs into a very ANGRY newborn once Edward explains what has happened. She's an angry newborn who blames her creator and hates him. Or at least she WANTS to hate him...

Ah, yes, Edward. He's in here, too, of course. Edward, who is finally adjusting somewhat to his new life and cares for Carlisle. But Edward misses his mother, too, and bonds with Esme-as-mother-figure. In spite of this, though, Edward is as conflicted as ever (of course), and like a lot of kids when Daddy brings home a new mommy, he's not sure he wants to share Dad's attention.

Esme wants nothing whatsoever to do with Carlisle. Carlisle wants Esme, but is consumed with guilt for having changed her. Edward vacillates between wanting to 'protect' her from Carlisle's interest - having seen her memories of abuse - and wanting her gone so he can have Dad back. Esme wants to leave as soon as possible. And Edward, well, Edward decides everyone will be happier if he helps her achieve this goal.

Carlisle, in this fic, is a man in love. And he's pretty sure it's a love that is in vain. He couldn't stop himself from changing her, but he considers it the most selfish act of his existence. He tries to do the best he can for her, as her sire, but his feelings for her seem to confound his ability to care for her as a newborn. He makes the mistake of letting Edward play too big a role in her care because of her overwhelmingly negative response to Carlisle, and they all end up paying a price for that.

Overall, a very good fic. Most of all, I liked the insight it gives into Carlisle's thoughts and feelings about the creation of his mate. It's rated “M” for mature, but there's not a lot of lemonade in this one. It IS a beautiful story. And I really like to think that THIS is the way it happened.


MissMaj recommends The Project by The Only Pancake

AH. AU. Realistic plot! --- Bella is swept into a life of friendship and heartbreak. Will she overcome the obstacles Forks faces her with, or will she fall and be left in the dust? A story about love, struggle, rocks, and The Lion King.

This was supposed to be for a J/B fic rec, but since this is Carlisle's month, I would like to focus on why I think his character in this story intrigued me. The first thing that caught my eye while reading this is that he isn't the normal dad or Doctor Cullen that we've known in the majority of the fics that we've read. He is a new student of Forks High School, coming by way of London. Everyone seems to swoon over this new English lad - he's charming and the perfect gentleman, according to the prying eyes of Forks High. Bella - another new student - befriends him, and slowly we find out that the perfect life everyone thought isn't what it seems to be. I find his character very interesting. In fact, he's one of my favourites in this fic. There's quite a bit of canon-Edward in him, but without the masochistic attitude that drives me up the wall.

Even though it says that the pairings are Jasper/Bella, the story isn't centered around them. Romance isn't the main topic of the story. It revolves around the trial and tribulations of a group of high school kids in the small town of Forks. I loved the angsty, realistic plot of the story, but this isn't the kind of story for everybody. It's a little darker than some of the teen angst fanfics that I've read. It deals with abandonment, drugs, and abuse - which may not be everyone's cup of tea. The best way to describe this is if you've watched The Breakfast Club or St Elmo's Fire and loved it, then this story is for you.

There are lots of characters in this story (and I mean LOTS), but the writer manages to mix them all together into the story without the reader feeling like there's too much going on. This also has very interesting pairings, and while I'm usually particular with my Jasper/Bella or Edward/Bella fics, this is one of the very few fics where I actually liked how some pairings went.