Kamis, 25 Agustus 2011

Seeing The Twilight Saga: New

Seeing The Twilight Saga: New
Seeing The Twilight Saga: New

Twilight Saga New Moon (2009)

Twilight Saga New Moon (2009)
Twilight Saga New Moon (2009)

What If It Hadn't Been Biology Class?

I saw an interview recently where Stephenie Meyer was talking about the alternatives to the storyline as she was writing and the different ways the story could have gone. I was instantly intrigued about the 'what ifs' she had considered. I mean....there were 'what ifs'??? Were these 'what ifs' just little ideas that she considered to get to certain plot points? Or BIG ideas? Did she consider some of the same things we've considered, and when I say we I mean all the different scenarios that have been played out in fanfiction?

She didn't elaborate in the interview, but if I could sit down and talk to her I would rake her over the coals grill her about everything she had considered because as I attempt to do my own writing I do know how hard it is to get a story to work out. Sometimes the ending eludes me or sometimes just the arc of storylines, the getting there part, really baffles me. There is so much choice when you write, endless possibilities and all, and sometimes the choices are very hard to make.



I have a couple of what ifs to throw out there.

What if it hadn't been an empty seat in biology class that brought Edward and Bella so close together in high school?

Miduhnight Sun
I had one sanctuary in this perguatory of high school. It wasn't a challenge, but it was amusing, if only to me. Of course, Rosalie couldn't fathom why I would want to involve myself with the humans at school. But maybe because when she didn't have school she had Emmett to amuse her.

I couldn't play sports amongst the humans. None of us could. Carlisle wouldn't allow it, fearing a sense of competitiveness would overtake our control over our abilities and we would end up hurting the humans with an overaggressive throw of a football or kick of a soccer ball. Still, there was one game that involved no human contact and no physical force, and that was the game I chose to play. Playing it at home with my family was okay, but given Alice's visions, we often deadlocked with no clear winners. But with teenage human opponents, I could secretly taunt them. I'd read their mind and pretend I was making one move strategically then act as though I was changing my mind. Was it fair? I suppose not, but it just seemed to entertain me --filled just a slight amount of the vast spare time I had. I would allow myself to be a school's reigning champion for a couple of months during the school year and then tell the teacher who ran the club that I needed to devote more time to my schoolwork, walking away before I received any major recognition within the community. I certainly never let it get to the point that I needed to pose for the school paper or community news.

At Forks High School, it was no real surprise to me that Mr. Banner was the teacher assigned to facilitate the club. He liked to think he was cool with his jokes in biology class and how well he connected with his students with his enthusiasm over saving the Earth but at heart, he was a full out nerd.

It was 3:30 pm on a Thursday and Mr. Banner had assigned game partners telling me that he would like to try beating me today and that I was going to play the winner amongst the rest of the players that afternoon.

A slight clearing of a throat was heard at the door. Mr. Banner jumped up, excusing himself from the game, knocking a few pieces over onto the board which I grasped quickly without anyone realizing.

"Ahh, Ms. Swan. So glad you could join our little group."

I hadn't lifted my head up from the board, but there was that sense of void again that I had picked up earlier in the cafeteria.

"What level would you classify yourself as, beginner, intermediate, or expert?" Mr. Banner asked.

"Ummm, I don't know. Maybe intermediate. I've been playing since I was about six."

Mr. Banner's thoughts were always so clear. And right now, he was intrigued that this small fragile-looking girl had been playing that long and hoped it meant she was more of an advanced intermediate.

He even hoped she could beat me.

"I'll play her," I offered up.

With that all heads in the room whipped around to look at me, but I acted like I didn't notice.

This girl's blood was calling to me. It was sweeter than anything I had ever come across in my existence, but my desire to play a game 'fair and square' once and for all was greater. I beat the monster down. This girl wasn't my prey. She was my opponent, and not killing her was going to test my control but watching her make her moves...playing her ....now that was going to test my skills at this game. 

She sat across the table from me, and I resisted outstretching my hand across the board.

"Hello, I'm Edward Cullen. You're Bella?" I didn't wait for a response. "Sorry I didn't have a chance to meet you earlier today. I'm set up to be white and you can be red. Ladies first?"  Before she had a chance to tell me her name I pushed the timer.

It was the most unreal game of chess I had ever played. I had no idea what moves she would make, and it was finally a challenge for me. Oh she was good, too. She was too smart for the four-move checkmate and she chose her moves strategically, carefully.

It was a quiet game. And in my head, as I reveled in the rush of playing a game without a single inkling as to what my opponent's next move would be, I silently bet her, "If I win, I'll take her to dinner in celebration. If she wins, I'll take her to dinner to celebrate that I didn't kill her." The game lasted longer than the chess club met for, so I watched as most of the students filtered out. They were curious as to who was going to win, most of them happily thinking I had finally met my match.

"Checkmate," she called and I mused over what Bella Swan would order at the restaurant I'd take her to for dinner.

"Rematch tomorrow?" I smiled.


Here's another what-if I came up with as a result of watching Twilight recently and being freaked out by the earthquake the other day.

I was super freaked out by the earthquake, which was all of two scary minutes of my life, while Bella survived that whole crazy James deal in the ballet studio like it was nothing. So what if that James episode had been such a dose of crazy reality to Bella that when Edward said to her 'Bella you gotta go to Jacksonville' she agreed, just feeling like she needed to get away? What if her fight or flight instinct had neon lighted and flashed 'flight, flight' over her head and her instinct was to return to some normalcy with her mom, just try to forget about the whole horrific experience and everything related to it?

So let's say for argument's sake that Bella had gone back to Jacksonville with Renee. How do you imagine things would have played out for Bella and Edward? How would she have left it?

You don't have to write in the form of a fanfiction, but describe what the events would be in the comments!!!!! Love to hear your thoughts!!!

(Has anyone ever read a good fic where Bella does go to Jacksonville? I have never read one. I've read a lot of alt  stories but not based on this particular scenario.)

Would love to hear your what if scenario in the comments.

~kiTT

Kamis, 18 Agustus 2011

Spanking the Monkey: The Epilogue

FanFiction.Net

17 Forever Lisa

PM Message . Subscribe . Favorite

since    : 12-05-09
country : USA

Author has written 0 stories for Twilight.

Conversed has written 10 stories for Twilight.

Author/Fangirl has read 10 stories by Conversed.

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Collaboration post with @belladuluk.
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Title: Hope, Friends, and Courage

Author: Twinned (aka Lisa and Fran)

Beta: kiTT

Pairing: Jackson and Kate


Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters, unfortunately. I owe thanks to Stephenie Meyer and her dream. I do not own the Jazzward manip used on the Seventeen Men cover, unfortunately. I owe props to Lostimortal2 and her mad skillz. I do not own the mortgage on this blog. What I do own is a new pair of ballz I grew recently. No copyright infringement is intended.

Hope, Friends, and Courage is not fictional. Anything reflecting true events is more than a coincidence. Behavior and words contained in this story belong to the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the owner of this blog. This story contains references to slash of the M/M variety. To borrow a phrase...YUM. If you are not 18 or think you will have your opinion of me (Lisa) confirmed, please do not read any further. You're going to anyway aren't you ;)


Music to scroll by:


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LISA'S POV

Call it fate, call it Texas-sized stars lining up just right, or call it me wearing her down, but somewhere along the way, ff author Conversed let me into her (im)proper British world. We went from author/reader, to author/stalker, to friend/friend. Lucky, lucky me.

If you check out Conversed's author bio (here), you'll find this picture:


Kate had a friend who went on a Twi cruise and got Michael Welch (Mike Newton) to sign her t-shirt. One day Kate and I were talking about me going to the 100 Monkeys concert in Chicago, and I mentioned it would be cool to have Jackson sign her t-shirt. This conversation took place way before I won a meet and greet with the band. It was just something I wanted to try and make happen if given the chance. In the end, due to a series of events regarding broken water pipes and packing stuff up in her attic, Kate wasn't able to locate her t-shirt to send to me. That could have been where the story ended.

As many of you already know, kiTT and I do a collab series of TwiPeople Magazine Covers highlighting fanfiction Edwards. Each month a different ff story/author is featured and a new Sexiest Ward Alive is named. (You can check out back issues by clicking on the links on the rh sidebar.) kiTT knew that Kate's ff stories Twinned and Seventeen Men owned me and gave me her blessing to do a special double issue of TwiPeople (here). This is the cover I designed for Seventeen Men (the sequel to Twinned), which is told solely from Jasper's POV. It's the one and only cover dedicated to the Sexiest Jasper Alive :)


Eventually, I tweaked both covers so Kate could have them for keepsakes.


So when I found out I was going to get to meet Jackson and his band on July 7th and that it was Kate's birthday on the 8th, an idea started forming. I didn’t know if I’d have the ballz to actually go through with it though.

The night before I left for Chicago, I was notified that I could take a guest with me to the meet and greet. It took me less than 17 seconds to know that it had to be Fran. I needed a partner in crime…an enabler…someone who was as passionate about my mission as I was.

For those of you who haven't read the post on my blog yet, the remaining details regarding the meet and greet can be found here. This epilogue picks up at the point where I grew a pair ;)

Fran distracted the boys while I talked to Jackson off to the side. I asked him if he would mind signing something for a friend who was celebrating a birthday the following day, and he said, "Sure!"

I pulled a copy of the Seventeen Men cover out of my envelope but kept it facing me. I then asked him if he'd heard of fanfiction, and he answered, "Yeeeeeeees," drawing it out in the form of a nervous question.

I told him that the friend who was having a birthday was a fanfic author and that she'd written the most amazing stories and, of course, we picture him in them. So then I asked him if he'd ever heard of slash within the world of fanfiction, and he said no. I explained that it was the genre that these stories were written in and that we'd even love to see them turned into film manuscripts (!). Before showing him the cover, I added the disclaimer, "You are probably going to shit."

I then turned it around and handed it to him. He put his left hand up to his scruffy chin, and I watched his face as he looked at it. He scratched his chin thoughtfully with his thumb and index finger and proceeded to really look at it. I could see his eyes moving back and forth as he read the quote. He nodded his head slowly, his eyebrows lifted, his eyes went a little wide, he tilted his head and nodded again, his eyes got a little wider…a silent symbol of "Oh. Oh!" as the quote sunk in.

I explained that there was this great graphic artist who had a whole series of Jazzward manipulations, one of which I had used on the design. He nodded, still looking at the page, and then placed it on the stool beside us, asking who he should make the autograph out to. I replied, “Kate.”

He signed it and then handed it back to me. By now, Fran had joined us and proceeded to back me up by telling him what a truly beautiful story Seventeen Men was and that the author was very talented and had such a way with words.

Pulling out the extra copy I had printed out, I handed it to him and told him it was his to keep. He pointed to the corner where I'd typed "Sequel to Twinned" and the FFn url and asked, "So this is where I can find the story?"

Smiling, I replied, “Yes.”

Fran and I left with the Hope that Jackson’s curiosity would get the best of him, especially since someone was ballzy enough to bring the stories to his attention. Then I saw this tweet he sent the other day. Maybe, just maybe, he’s already checked it out ;)

@JacksonRathbone: @Nutellaval @OhMyRobsten23 Happy birthday, doll-face...

If that reference doesn't mean anything to you, then you haven't read Twinned and/or Seventeen Men. Shame on you! Favorite them. Read them. You won't regret it. Honest.

It took me awhile, but I finally got the cover framed and sent off to Kate as a late surprise birthday present. One morning while we were exchanging emails and working on something together for TruceOver's birthday, I got this email from her:

Subject: OMG OMG OMG OMG

I am a snot sobbing WRECK right now.
I have to go lie on my bed for a minute.
You just killed me. I think you know what you've done.
<3 <3 <3
I emailed her back and she didn't reply for awhile, so I emailed her again and said that there would be an awful lot of people unhappy if I truly did kill her. Thank goodness she lives and is still talking to me after receiving her gift. (The captions are Kate's words.)





I can't stop looking at it!




She sent a beautiful card depicting a Cowboy
with his ponies, as well as a Lone Star. <3




And this is where the picture lives now.
A little bit of Jackson in my writing space.
See all those little Post-its on the right?
They are the last lines for my stories. LOL
A/N: Hearing "last lines" made me cry...again.

As I told Kate in the letter I enclosed with her gift, while it wasn't an autograph on her iconic t-shirt, I hoped she liked it. When all was said and done, I think we're both happy I went through with it.

I also promised you the story behind me saying that I shed a ton of tears on my Chicago trip. I shared a room with Fran and Jude (@Double_Dippin) and the last night we were there, Micki (@Micki_Martini) stayed with us. You see, the final chapter of Seventeen Men had posted a couple days before. Fran, Jayla (@ChefJayla), and I knew it was the end and were putting it off. I would have loved to have been able to read it with Jayla who had also come to Chicago, but the timing just didn't work out. So Fran and I sat in bed in our pjs with her laptop on her lap and got ready to read it together. I started an ugly cry the minute she launched the chapter. I think Jude and Micki alternated between wanting to laugh at me and cry for me. As avid ff readers themselves, they could relate to a story you're attached to coming to an end and being all sorts of sad.

While I miss Jasper and his very own Cullen like crazy, it was time. Kate had gifted us with the perfect journey. That's why I did what I did in the long run. I wanted to give something back to someone who had given so much to me...and so many other readers.

Thanks to kiTT for letting me tell this story here instead of on my personal blog where my family might stumble across it and have me committed ;)

Thanks to Fran for letting me do some Cullen-style leanin' at the meet and greet and during the reading of Seventeen Men...especially at the very end.

But most of all, thanks to Kate for teaching me that angst can be beautiful (happy now?) and for reaffirming that love is love.

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FRAN'S POV

I’m going to let you all in on a little secret. Rob, cover your ears. I think I’ve fallen for another man. A southern, down-home gentleman. I thought there could only be one special someone who could lure me in with their odd mix of hot boy next door and twinkle in the eye, yet there are two, as in “Twinned.”


The ultimate decision to fly half way across the country to see Jackson and his band 100 Monkeys came to me in a gradual way after 'meeting' Lisa first through email and then in person at the WFE premiere in NYC. Thankfully, it turns out  Lisa and I are “Twinned.”


One of the things we bonded over was fanfiction. One day she randomly asked if I ever read “slash ff.” I innocently replied that I usually don’t like “violence” but I’d give it a try. "No," she calmly replied, "That’s not what slash is." She then sent me the link to Twinned by Conversed. All I could think after realizing what slash really was is that “Lisa must think I’m an idiot.”

No, she didn’t laugh or ever make me feel insignificant. Lisa is to Jasper, as I am to Dollface. Well, sorta, kinda. At least in my world where I can relate and compare most anything to fanfiction. Lisa led me to a story and an author who owns words heavy enough to “lasso and bring down stars for the taking.” Mine, is Lisa.

Seventeen Men by Conversed is written by someone who I’ve described as being able to channel old souls, those with the wisdom of the ages. Her characters come to life and speak in voices that make you feel, make you ache, make you love, and make you wiser. Her Jasper, among other story characters, spoke to me so intensely. I fell hard for Jasper. And since her Jasper was inspired by Jackson, I slowly started to fall hard for the real-life version of southern perfection.

My instincts led me to Chicago mostly for the chance for some time with Lisa and my Chicago area girls: UABMarie, Kassie, Mary, NaughtyMarie.


I was thrilled when Lisa said she’d won a “meet and greet” with the group. The ultimate “gasp” moment for me came when she said she was allowed to bring a friend along and she picked ME! With this honor came my determination to make her experience as special as I could. So I put on my big girl panties during that private meet and greet, and during that moment, it was all for Lisa. Lisa was so super charged to meet Jackson, I mean like Rob crazed. I did my best to shift the focus on her being in that moment and getting the autograph for Kate.




A/N from Lisa:
I almost died when I saw this picture for the first time
and almost didn't post it. Fran's NOT distracting the boys.
I'm so f*cking nervous I'm rehearsing my speech.
The tour manager (purple shirt) is probably thinking
about calling security. But forget all of that.
Let's focus on Jackson's hands on his hips...

But the following moments belong to ME. Before the meet and greet, before the concert, there was Jackson who suddenly appeared two feet in front of me, with that shit ass grin of his. He is a “Little Shit,” the way he moves, the way he’s so playful, and the way he’s so comfortable with who he is. I was drawn into his aura. Yeah, that’s right, it’s true. I became an idiot. My mind just left me somewhere within that pull of his.


Here’s how the events of my capture went down:

We VIP ticketholders were privy to an acoustic private set, followed by pictures with the band. I believe I was one of the first in line. I even left Lisa’s side and left her in the dust to fend for herself. I told you, I just lost my head and apparently my lack of self confidence too. While the girl took my camera to set up the shot, and at this point I honestly don’t know what came over me... I marched right up to Jackson, who was off to the side ready for the line up picture. I shyly said, “Hi. Jackson, may I have a hug, please?” I swear to you, I don’t know where that came from. He said, and I may not have the exact wording (mind left me remember), "Why yes, Darlin'." He took two small steps toward me and... grabbed ME gently, then squeezed ME real tight, and smiled right in MY face, like up soooo f**king close girls! I could have, should have, licked him all over that pretty face of his. I could have, should have sucked on those dam dimples. Those dimples and that grin ought to be illegal because they are dangerous. They cause minds to be lost. And then he let me go, and I just moved right in close and had my picture taken in a drunken Jackson haze. All I know for sure is he smelled like soap, had a vampire Jasper-like grip, and I was lost.

I continued with the rest of the events, but I’ll have to defer to Lisa for the accurate details. All I know is I took some crotch shots and other various shots I probably had no business taking, but it’s really all Jackson’s fault so just enjoy them.

Lisa has everything. Kate has her framed, signed Seventeen Men cover. kiTT has her picture of Mohawtie. But I have MY FREAKING DOWN HOME, TIGHT HUG!







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Beta's Note: I've gotta say that I can just hear Jackson saying 'Yeeeeeeees' in my head perfectly now that I have met him. And should I ever meet him again, I will insist he call me doll-face....or at least doll. Great job girls!! The rent on the blog space is due by the end of the month!

Minggu, 14 Agustus 2011

The Novel "Breaking Dawn"

the novel
the novel "Breaking Dawn"

What if Rob Quoted Twilight To You?

*whispers*
Pssst....I need this to be a super safe place right now to share something. 

The meet and greets with Rob and Jackson and the other Twilight stars have been all the buzz lately! I'm left dumbfounded and starstruck over my friends venturing out there and meeting these actors that we love who play characters we love!!! I still marvel at the fact that I met Peter and now I've met Jackson (story yet to be told). I've been ecstatic for my friends who have met so many of the stars and feel giddy at the thought of more upcoming events with opportunities for pictures and encounters and awesome stories about respect! Stephenie Meyer may have created characters on paper for her world of Twilight, but as fans we found ways to incude ourselves in her world. We've faced torrential downpours, and long lines, lost luggage, and flight delays...but we've also never felt stronger in her world.

Errr...something like that.

But as I sit here watching Twilight early on this rainy morning I admit that I have a lot of fantasies about meeting Rob, none I'm sure of which would ever pan out. Thankfully some of those special fantasies I have lived out in dreamland. So putting those fantasies aside, with watching Twilight I'm reminded of my fantasy of meeting Rob and him dropping a Twilight line on me just for the fun of it!!!

Twilight is how I fell for Rob! When I watch the movies now I imagine me meeting him at a Twilight shindig. I greet him timidly. He says hello to me, asks me how I'm doing, thanks me for supporting him and then in the ultimate sign of appreciation for my love for Twilight he goes into character and drops a line on me. I melt to pieces.

Errr, am I the only one who has thought this?

I mean we say the lines and write the lines in our own lives all the time, right?
It's a necessary part of our vernacular, isn't it? 
Even Mr. ATP gets in on it. Have I told this story before? We were at a red light one day and a black New Moon/Eclipse model Volvo pulled up next to us and he says, "Oh good, Cullen's here." Nice, right?

A Twilight quote out of Rob would just completely disable me, intrigue me, and make me laugh all at the same time. Why? Because NO ONE could say those words the way Rob does. It's not just the words themselves, it is his voice and his inflection in how he said them in the movies--the emotion we feel in response to hearing his version of those words. It's just something that can't be recreated. In the same way Waxward has missed the mark over and over again at trying to capture Rob, anyone else saying those words is just a tribute to Twilight and worthy of a giggle, but could never replicate the feelings we have in gut reaction to hearing Robward's version that represents the a character and a story we all love.

So let's pretend Rob and his manager types understand what a BFD this would be to me (and others? please say you'd love it too) if we were to meet Rob at a meet-n-greet where he was willing to give us a line. Which line would you want him to say to you? I've thought about this...here and there...or half as many times as I've watched Twilight (you do the math). And each time I think I have the right line picked out, I hear him say another one and think, yes that one would be great to hear him say in person.

Here are my top 5 choices that would make me float away up to cloud 9 to hear Rob say in person:


5. "You don't know how long I've waited for you."
(pinning me against the wall for effect would help this scenario)


4. "Marry Me." (said both ways, of course)


3.  "You're my only reason to stay alive, if that's what I am."

2.  "Believe me, I want to."


1.5. "What if I'm the bad guy?"


1.25 "You are my life now."

All so, so good, right? But you know which line I would pick hands down every time?

By the restaurant scene the first time I watched Twilight was when I was sporting a smitten, eyes were popped out of my head crush and I was thinking 'sweet marmalade this boy is beautiful' and then Robward scrunches up his nose in hesitation of revealing his internal struggle and pours his tortured soul out when he says,

1.  "I don't have the strength to stay away from you anymore."

Done.
Died.
Gone to hell in a handbasket.

I might have to revisit this topic after seeing Breaking Dawn but for now, it seems like Edward's best lines were found mostly in the first movie. Do you agree?

So if you knew Rob was going to drop a Twilight Saga quote on you at the end of a meet-n-greet what line would you want him to give you? Would you want him to say something funny to help break the tension and/or make you laugh or something emotional?

Let's stick to Twilight quotes for now, but if there is a good amount of you admitting here that you wouldn't mind him dropping a line on you but from another movie, I'll do a separate post on that and we can share those quotes. Hell we can even do a separate quote on Rob dropping a fanfiction line. I know most of us wouldn't mind walking away from a meet and greet with Rob and hearing him say, "Laters, baby."

~kiTT

**All screencaps from TwilightPoison.com