is that title too easy? This isn't about the movie, just some ramblings about a hot button TwiFic issue.
Here's what I don't get:
If someone asks if they can translate your story, that means they love it, they want to share it and they plan to give you full credit for writing it in English.
If you tell someone they can't translate your story, they're going to anyway AND they can't attach your name to it, or you'll find out. So it's at that point that you, the author, encouraged people to plagiarize you.
People just want to have fun and read. They don't want to get spanked Icy-style for having made the translation for their friends. So to fly under the radar, they'd have to post it in a way where a search for the author's name wouldn't bring it up. And I imagine that means attributing the writing to someone else.
You are in denial if you think that a "please don't" is going to stop people from wanting to read and share your story. THIS IS A COMPLIMENT that they're asking, because they want to do it in good faith and credit you properly. Besides,
YOU'RE the one who put it out there.
So why the widespread stance against translations?
Official Description: A famous voice teacher. A mysterious piano prodigy. Backstabbing classmates. Music school is competitive, and aspiring singer Bella Swan is determined to succeed. Hard work she can handle, but who expected music school to be dangerous? A story in 3 acts
Have you ever read a fic and felt like it was written for you? I've only read the first 2 chapters of Philadelphic's Canzone and I already know that I'm in love.
Everything about it - the world in which it takes place, the characters, the musical references.
One of my favorite things about fic is when characters are able to communicate to one another through music, and how reading on this electronic medium allows me to access the music in question, and feel like I'm brought into that connection.
Bella walks in on Edward playing Debussy's Doctor gradus ad Parnassum.
It's become my secret ritual, though I always wonder exactly when he becomes aware of my presence. I slip in the same door I came in the first day, in the balcony, making as little noise as possible. Every week I come a little bit earlier, just to listen to him play. Sometimes he's at the organ, but mostly he's on the grand piano, usually playing Debussy. It's uncanny how often his selection matches my mood perfectly.
Today's selection is a playful piece, and I'm enchanted. I find myself leaning on the balcony railing, my head resting on my arms as I watch in fascination. His fingers sprint in rapid patterns up and down the keyboard.
It's so fast I can't even follow it with my eyes, but I'm trying. The piece is over far too soon and he's smiling at me for a change.
"What's that one called?" I ask, encouraged by the smile. "Is it Debussy, like the last two times?"
"Yes. It's called Doctor Gradus ad parnassum, from Children's Corner. Did you like it?" He began to play it again, fingers fluttering over the keys fast as hummingbird wings.
"I always like what you play," I answer truthfully, "This one just seems so sweet and playful."
"Come down and listen closer," he pauses as I gather my things.
I don't hesitate for some reason, and within a moment I'm sitting on the steps leading to the stage a few feet away from him.
"Why do you always sit up there?" he nods at the balcony.
"I don't want to bother you," I confess, "but I like to hear you play."
He frowns for a moment, but his hands begin the playful pattern, this time at a slower pace. Finally inhales, face smoothing as if savoring the moment.
"You don't bother me much. You're so very quiet. I like it," he sounds like he's still making up his mind. "You can come closer. I won't bite."
I laugh, and resolve to be quiet enough for him not to mind my presence. I close my eyes while he plays, to try to shut out his beauty, but the moment I do, it's like I can feel the flutter of his fingers on my skin. As the sound surrounds me, he seems even closer to me than he was when I had my eyes open. When the music stops he is back to his usual, remote self.
And this is just the beginning of this epic story. I can't wait for more! This Bella is so joyful, even in the face of tremendous challenges. And this Edward is mysterious and brilliant. I'm even enjoying Alice and Jasper in their supportive roles.
What really sets this fic apart for me, as I said in my first review: But it's things like her acknowledgement of a "secret pulse of complexity" and the work ethic that her Voice Professor asserts, and Jasper/Alice's encouragement of finding balance between passion, emotion, and technical skill - all of these things tap into something that is at once very specific to the experience of someone studying music, and simultaneously something that is universal to anyone who lives for that place that music can take you that is beyond the mundane and into the magical.
Must go consume more of La canzone della Bella Cigna!
This edition of the HOTNESS Hall of Fame is dedicated to instances of killer lemons between strangers.
In certain Twific scenarios, the essential element of HOTNESS is that initial spark between Edward and Bella. That electricity that pulls them towards one another. That hungry attraction that inspires a primal need. This is often best evidenced in stories where Bella and Edward are strangers who cannot resist each other. I call these, "Hey there, sailor!" lemons and they are basically straight up ridiculous hotness between strangers.
After the jump, I break down the "Hey there, sailor!" hotness of Last Tango in Forks, Reality Minus Expectations, and Breaking Trinity. Enjoy!
I read some GREAT frickin fic this month so I'm gonna jump right into it.
THINGS I READ
I happen to have started two fics of the genre "Bella is raising Edward's son, but Bella and Edward aren't together, but due to extenuating circumstances, the possibility of moving forward together as a family is within reach yet out of reach, so lots of yummy tension."
Parachute by KitsuShel After finding an abandoned child [Jack] on the streets of Seattle, Bella Swan raises him for five years as her own. What happens to their life when his biological family is found? AU/AH
Blind Intentions by SammieLynnsMom When Edward & Bella's son, Nathan, goes missing it turns their lives upside down. This is the journey they take to find him, & in the process realize everything isn't what it seems. M for language, themes, & future lemons EPOV E/B Eventually NO CHEATING!
I read and enjoyed this fun slash fic that is exactly what it promises to be...
How to Turn A Straight Guy Gay by Lou-La "My name is Jasper Whitlock, and I teach straight boys the pleasure of c*ck." EdxJas, obviously slash. Lemons, naughty words, the usual. Best UST and Dry Hump in Round Two of The Slash Awards. COMPLETE.
For a bit of the silly-funny, I enjoyed the bordering-cracky Aha Shake! by teambella23. Perhaps the greatest description/summary ever: "Did you just get vagina slapped by a stripper Edward?" What happens when a man-eating handmodel named Bella and Edward, an asshole who's bored w/vagina meet in Las Vegas? Continuation based on entry for the Twi-Hards First o/s Contest - AH/OOC Lemons
I read The Antidote by jandco, which is a classic AU in every sense. It takes issues raised in canon and poses a "what if?" with really interesting results. The premise is that after James bit Bella and Edward drinks from her in Twilight, it turns Edward human. Carlisle's theory: That drinking from your singer is the antidote to vampirism. This has really interesting implications on the E/B protective dynamic and their problems with balancing the power in the relationship. Also, you can imagine what issues this might raise for Rosalie, who puts herself in the position of choosing between living life as a human, and living alongside her mate. COMPLETE
I LOVE Portrait of a Girl by Zors!!! So original. Would probably be filed as one of my favorites of the month except that it hasn't updated since I read it early November, and I can't remember if it was funny and awesome, or just awesome. Here's the summary: Edward, smartest student at St. Bart's School for Boys, always thought he was straight. That is, until he met new student Ben Cheney. But what happens when Edward discovers that Ben is actually a girl who goes by the name of Bella Swan? AH AU. ...
New Faves
aka FicsYouMustRead
aka IfYou'reNotReadingTheseYet,GetToIt
aka WhyAreYouStillHere?GoRead!
Dead on My Feet by Cesca Marie Full Summary: Recovering from a serious illness, Edward knows what it is to be invisible but obvious to everyone around him. Bella, who has watched a loved one die of protracted illness, understands the tightrope-act of life in an unpredictable body. Alienated by his disease, Edward finds a friend in Forks' newest resident. The only problem is that she sees far more than anyone else does – including the things he doesn't want seen.
MY REVIEW is here
Surviving Bella by Savage Spending time on a sailboat on the sea should be the time of your life! But when the ship sinks, Captain Edward and passenger Bella end up in a life raft together. Can they survive the elements and their colliding pasts? M for mature themes/language.
I jacked the Twific Pimps' Friday Fic Fit to rave about this fic
Another favorite from November has been the author YellowGlue. With her AU, she plays with canon in really compelling ways. She also brings the hotness through the tension she builds, but also stylistically, with full-sensory immersive description.
The multichap, The Worst of Weather (AU) Bella comes home for Christmas break from her freshman year away at university to be unexpectedly all shaken up. Snideward. Spitefulward. Slightly Darkward. Rated M for lemons and fluffiness in future chapters.
The oneshot, Dear Prudence (AH) beardedward with glasses and strawberryblondella, sitting in a tree. k-i-s-s-i-n-g... autumn leaves. mix cds. dirty talk. sneaky love. pwp, smutfluff o/s.
Here's what I said in my review of this one:
Loved this!!! I loved the music all throughout, but the Dear Prudence lyrics were perfection! I never would have thought to use this song in this way, and it's brilliant. Yellowglue, especially in her oneshots, has this way of creating fantastic snapshots of very particular characters. I'm always left wanting to see even more of their world.
November 28th was TwiCharmed/Kari's birthday, so I spent the last couple weeks of November working on a special blog for her. This was a total labor of love! I tried to include everything Kari is obsessed with - her soap star aspirations, her fave TV shows, everything I could think of that she would love. People from all around the fandom contributed messages and outtakes and oneshots.
I came up with a backstory for my hippy superhero avi
After a ton of work, we launched Episode 9 - The Man Show, where we experimented with a totally different format for the show. We interviewed a bunch of men around the fandom and put it together into one episode.
My 60 Second Pimpdown was Confessions of a Difficult Woman by Einfach Mich.
The Twific Pimps are trying something new. We're launching Phone it in!, our Pimp-a-Fic telephone hotline, where you'll be able to call in and leave us a 60 second rec for a story that you're dying to pimp.
If there's something you think everyone should be reading, call (347) 746-7758 and leave a message at the beep with your pen name, the fic title, and the author's name. Give a couple sentences about why we should read it. Make sure to keep it 60 seconds or less.
We're going to try this out and see if we can inorporate some of your Phone It In recs into future podcast episodes.
Number to call: (347) 746-7758
Please include:
your pen name
title of the story you're pimping
the author
Remember, keep it 60 seconds or less, and Happy Pimping!
I made her little segments for each of her favorite TV shows, and people from all over the fandom contributed fabulous messages of birthday love and oneshots and outtakes of her favorite fics. Each friend's contribution became one of the episodes listed under the TV shows Kari loves.
That gorgeous banner was made by Kassiah, by the way. Unbelievable!
My favorite part of the whole thing was listening to Kari on skype as she was FLIPPING OUT over it. She is the cutest and sweetest and most awesome human. She is truly my partner in crime and I love her to death.
Official Description:Recovering from a serious illness, Edward knows what it is to be invisible but obvious to everyone around him. Bella, who has watched a loved one die of protracted illness, understands the tightrope-act of life in an unpredictable body. Alienated by his disease, Edward finds a friend in Forks' newest resident. The only problem is that she sees far more than anyone else does – including the things he doesn't want seen.
I saw this fic rec'd all over the place and always passed on it. I had NO interest in reading about cancer and sickness. Too much reality for my happy world of fic.
The other night I saw @sunshine_00 tweeting quotes as she read DoMF. It sounded so sweet and charming and I was intrigued. Needless to say, I gave it a try and ended up pounding all of the available chapters.
I can't tell you how happy I am that I finally got to reading this story! It's not depressing and heavy like I thought it would be, given its subject matter. If anything, it has a sense of lightness in Bella's quirkiness, especially when we are inside her head. And there's humor and hope and sweetness in her interactions with Edward.
There's angst in what Edward's been through and being in his head reminds me of the reality of his experience as a boy in remission, who is still in the process of recovering from his ordeal. But this ain't no pity party. Bella would never let it be that. She cares for him without letting him play the role of the victim.
Cesca Marie brings a great deal of realness to the experience of these characters. I love the pace set by her unique format of day to day snapshots. I'm pretty sure it's her voice in this that keeps the story from being sad-sack. She keeps me from pitying her characters and brings me in as an observer of their experience, not as a witness to their depressing struggle.
And flirtation via sharing music is my absolute favorite way to fall in love :)
