Sometimes you think you want something, but when you get it, it turns out you didn't actually want it. I'm pretty sure Joni Mitchell wrote a song about that. Though I doubt she was talking about Alice/Bella lesbian slash-fiction, which is what I am talking about.
At this point, for every conceivable combination of characters from Twilight there is at least one short story out there in which they fuck. Edward and Bella, Jasper and Bella, Charlie and Jasper, Billy and Sam Uley - believe me, that shit is out there. But the "Edward fucks Bella" fiction seems to really only be rivaled in breadth and scope by the "Alice fucks Bella" fiction. I've really only taken a cursory glance at this stuff - because again, you think you want something but you really, really don't - but there is a lot of it. In some, Bella and Alice lock eyes in the Forks cafeteria and go down on each other in the locker room before Edward gets a chance to introduce himself. In others, they fool around after Bella and Edward have gotten together, and it gets complicated until it's resolved by a threesome. In still others, Bella and Alice are bisexual, non-vampire architects (not kidding at all) who fuck each other on a regular basis and then meet dudes named Edward and Jasper at a sex party and have a four-way.
But the most notable and ambitious piece of Bella/Alice fuckfic uses New Moon as a jumping-off point. It's called "The Edge," and was written by someone named Janine. Get this: it's thirty-six chapters long. It is literally a full length novel. Essentially, way back in Phoenix, Alice confesses her bisexuality to Bella, and over the course of the next few months a gradual attraction starts to build between them. One night they kiss and subsequently try to stay away from each other. The night of Bella's birthday the paper cut thing happens, Alice rushes Bella outside, and they have a weird half-sexual-half-violent confrontation in the woods. The Cullens leave and presumably the same events from most of New Moon occur. Alice comes back when she thinks Bella is dead, she isn't, and they fuck.
Bella released a ragged breath as Alice’s breasts were revealed to her, the sight of the soft, rose capped mounds sending an electric tingle throughout her body. They were even more amazing than Bella had imagined, and given the perfection of everything else on Alice she had imagined them to be spectacular.
Yep. To some extent, I guess sex scenes will always sound silly. It's kind of an impossible task to use words that don't sound ridiculous to describe any sexual act. I'm a mature guy, okay? I'm not a prude at all. But visual art forms definitely have a leg up in this regard.
And then Alice turned her head to the side and took one of Bella’s nipples into her mouth, sucking on it as if her life depended on it.
There's probably some kind of parable about a genie granting someone an ill-advised wish that would apply here, don't you think? Don't get me wrong; I'm happy Bella finally gets off:
Bella’s breath caught in her throat, her fingers stiffening in Alice’s hair, and her hips jerked up. Then she was trembling as pleasure ripped through her body, her mind exploding in a sea of colour and lights. Her hips bucked, her pleasure fTlooding Alice’s lips which were still pressed against her center, licking and sucking, even as Bella’s body quaked.
But I'd rather not read about it. Anyway, eventually the Cullens all return and Bella and Alice's relationship has to be reckoned with on many levels. Bella comes out to Charlie, who reacts admirably. Edward, Bella, Jasper and Alice try to basically start a poly-amorous relationship which rather realistically crumbles. Edward leaves town while Jasper genuinely tries to share Alice for a while; it gets messy, feelings are hurt. Also at some point Victoria comes back, and Jacob has a mildly homophobic aversion to Bella that may or may not actually get resolved. I haven't read the whole thing (thirty-six fucking chapters!) and I skimmed some long sex sections.
For the most part the writing is sub-Meyer. Tenses shift erratically, punctuation is inconsistent, and Alice is referred to as "the raven-haired beauty" literally hundreds of times. But it is written in a kind of free-floating, limited-omniscient third person which feels intuitive and interesting; we drift from what Alice is thinking to Bella to Charlie to Rosalie or whoever and back again as serves the story.
Is it crazy to say that I believed the love between Bella and Alice in this fan-fiction more than I believe the love between Bella and Edward in the books? This is not the influence of the Joey Tribbiani part of my brain showing. Here, Bella and Alice talk. They talk constantly, and not just about the state of their relationship. They talk about dumb shit, as lovers do. They are physically attentive in sexual and nonsexual ways. They are beset by genuine emotional turmoil: the complications generated by their previously-standing relationships, the complications generated by being a gay couple in a small town. And they are anchored in their suffering by their love for each other, not made worse off by it.
Give it a read if you are feeling bold; feel free to share your thoughts here whenever and if ever you do. This is a blog that recognizes possibly misguided ambition, and no matter what else it is, "The Edge" is a work of great and strange ambition. I may have been wrong about wanting to see a bunch of hot sex actually described in The Twilight Saga, but I'm glad to see that I am not alone in thinking Alice and Bella would actually make a good couple.
Previously
5 comments:
So, I started reading this just out of curiosity. I'm not sure if I should be impressed (I mean, 36 chapters!) or creeped out. I do think my favorite line so far is
"Bella uncomfortably aware of her awareness of Alice’s body." She realyl seems to be channeling Meyer with that one.
I'm so glad you are going to try reading it. Keep us posted on your reactions.
i am curious about how the 'body made of stone that is freezing cold' thing works with a lady. like, i can see why edward might have a hard time (you're welcome) controlling himself and his supernaturally turgid member might fuck bella to human rubble. but normal intercourse does require a certain level of firmness to the male member, if not marble that's been stored in deep freeze. but a cold, hard stone vagina doesn't sound especially erotic to me.
kim, lemme know how that works out, please.
Ok, so I finished reading it. First off, it doesn't really mention much about Alice being hard like marble or ice cold. In fact, it refers to Alice as "soft" quite a lot and only partly references the cold thing. It seems like, aside from being a little chilly, Alice's body reacts just like anyone else. After Bella is turned, it does mention that Alice is happy that she can't hurt Bella anymore and that she doesn't have to be as careful while they're doing it.
Also weird, Alice has fangs in this one which are directly related to how turned on she is. Oh, and apparently she can bleed and get bruised if she's injured, but when she feeds she heals faster. Part of this made me wonder if the author was a fan of True Blood.
Initial thoughts and stuff...
Things I liked:
The relationship between Alice and Bella was definitely more believable. It showed you that they were in love rather than just telling you (though it did some of that, too).
It addressed the fact that Edward is kind of a jerk. One of the reasons Bella falls out of love with him is that he's controlling and patronizing, whereas Alice sees her as her equal (as much as possible, anyway).
Bella moves out, goes to college, and actually makes a friend before she's turned.
Charlie's and Renee's reactions to the news that their daughter is a lesbian. They both handled it well and the scene with Charlie was kind of cute.
The way it handled the polyamorous relationship situation. I'm glad that it didn't end up with some crazy orgy or happily ever after with the four of them. Each character's reaction was actually pretty true to that character.
Any interaction between Jasper and Bella after they decided to try sharing Alice.
Pretty much anything to do with Jasper, really. The scene where he decided to leave was genuinely sad.
Things I didn't like:
The "raven-haired beauties" thing. I tried to count how many times it was used, but lost count around 40. Also, it should be "beauty's" not "beauties."
Any interaction between Jacob and Bella. The scenes with them were kind of flat.
The super creepy part where the Cullens are watching Bella and Alice go at it. I get that they're vampires and more open about these kind of things, but it's still weird to have the people who are basically her parents watching her on the floor with her girlfriend's hand up her shirt.
The whole thing where they dress Bella up before she's turned. That just seemed kind of silly.
The fact that they actually tell Charlie that they're vampires and how they do it. I also kind of hated that Bella lied to him about how it happened.
Pretty much anything to do with Edward. I didn't feel bad for him the way I did Jasper. He's still just kind of a jerk.
The sex scenes were weird. I mean, I read romance novels and I'm cool with them in those, but there's something about the sex in fanfic that's just more uncomfortable to read.
Um, that's all I can think of for now.
I'd say you pretty much covered it. I'm glad I'm not alone in finding the love more genuine and the sex more creepy.
Post a Comment