. . . Looking back on November

Soundtrack for reflection...

Clap Hands!

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.

...

WHAT I WROTE

On this blog, I wrote reviews of... 

the fabulously original and intriguing Voice For Me, by PachasPickMeUp

and the sweet, heart-grabber Dead on My Feet, by Cesca Marie

For the Twific Pimps...

I jacked our usual reader-driven Friday rec post 

to talk about Surviving Bella by Savage

Other random stuff I worked on...

http://happybirthdaytwicharmed.blogspot.com/

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

I dropped a 90s Hip Hop playlist for one of my November #FFs

TWIFIC PIMPS

We were guests on Twific News for a live broadcast of the results of the Fandom People Awards

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.

We also posted Episode 10 - Nothing Gets Between Me and My Kellmett, which is all about Emmett and features special guest Hmonster4.

My 60 Second Pimpdown was Voice for Me by PachasPickMeUp.

And finally, we launched a brand new endeavor --
Phone It In.

This is a telephone hotline where people can call in and leave 60 second recs for fics they love. We hope to use these messages on our podcast.