Welcome to The Vampies

We would like to give our support to some new awards out. The Vampies are for vampires only - so ideally suited to all those dark fics we love so much. We have asked around and here are some we are delighted to recommend. Check out the categories listed here.

Nominations will run from Friday, June 11 through Sunday, June 27, 2010.

Go and Vote Now!

Title: THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH
Category:The Glass Slipper (Best HEA)
Author: JEESIECHREESIE

BEST ENDING EVER. I'd call that a HEA for the darkside ;) RECOMMENDED by Sweetp-1 and Lambcullen



Title: TOYE
Category: Bloody Brilliant (Best Overall) and I Like to Play With My Food (Best DarkVamp)
Author: BRATTY-VAMP
Suspense, gore, and one of the most memorable Darkwards ever. "Vampires like to play with their food" -RECOMMENDED by Sweetp-1 and Dihenydd

Title: JUST ONE MORE THING YOU WANT TO END
Category:The Glass Slipper (Best HEA) and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Sparkly (Best AU)
Author: HUMANSHIELD
This is how Twilight should have ended. Told from EPOV but using his unique ability to gain insight from Alice and Jasper, this is so much better than canon. RECOMMENDED by dihenydd




Title: PREY

Category: I Can’t Believe It’s Not Sparkly (Best AU)
Author: SUMMER35

A faultlessly realised alternate take on canon where Edward is a powerful member of the Volturi enforcers. Although still 'vegetarian' he meets his singer while she is still a child and sets in motion a chain of events that will ultimately restructure the world for vampires, shapeshifters and those humans in the know. This is a story about the powerful, though not always welcome bond between Edward and Bella and is also an intricate political thriller. RECOMMENDED by dihenydd



Title: HER OWN PARTICULAR SHADE OF EBONY
Category:Bloody Brilliant (Best Overall) and The Poisoned Apple (Best Angst)
Author: LADYINGREY42
Jasper's vampire senses and crimson eyes set him apart. His ability to pull back the veil of the world and taste emotions like colors makes him alone. Until he encounters a human girl whose darkness is the most intense shade of ebony he's ever known.

This dark and tormented story gave me chills through the entire reading. It's filled with angst, pain, and misery painted with a pallet of gloriously bruised colours. Alice wants release through death and wears her scars like bracelets to remind her of her failures. Darksper, an incubus of sorts, is an artist of emotions that feeds off of her suffering and the beauty it creates for him. This has one of the most sensuous non-lemons filled with blood, venom, and sexual lust that I have ever read. Against canon, Darksper gives in to his own selfishness and refuses to give Alice what she begs of him... until finally... that is for you, the reader, to discover... this is truly a painfully bleak and miserable tale, the kind that I truly love and adore that twists at your heart... RECOMMENDED by Maleficentknits





Title: CARPE NOCTEM & FIAT LUX
Category: I Can’t Believe It’s Not Sparkly (Best AU)
Author: QUEENOFGREY
Told partly in letters of excruciating beauty, this is a story of bloodlust so all consuming it resembles madness and how it is overcome by something even stronger. This is one of my favorite endings ever.




Title:THE DARKEST EVENING
Category:Just Like Stephenie Used to Make (Best Canon)
Author: C. ANNA CULLEN
"Before Bella, Edward's life was like a moonless night. This is the story of the demons that haunted him in the darkness."

Ever wondered what Edward got up to when he left Carlisle and Esme in his rebellious years? If so then this is the story for you. Edward fights against his natural instincts so he can live like Carlisle and Esme but situations arise that lead him to the dark side and he gives in to the monster within. Along the way he meets more monsters and his struggle to come to terms with what he is and what he has done to his 'family' provides angst galore. This darkward is utterly fantastic and the story is written better than canon. RECOMMENDED by IrishTwiFicster

Title: THE WORST OF WEATHER
Category: Fangbanged (Best Smut) and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Sparkly (Best AU)
Author: YELLOWGLUE

The initials are WoW ... and that's what this fic is! Yellowglue has a way of making this fic crawl under your skin until you're feeling every single thing the characters are. Her words are pure poetry which make this Darkward utterly delicious. RECOMMENDED by Lambcullen

Title: ROSE LIKE THUNDER
Category: Fangbanged (Best Smut)
Author: YELLOWGLUE
This is the EPOV version of The Worst of Weather, where we find that Snideward may not be quite as Bella sees him. He is however still detached and mean, his motivations are just clearer. This is someof the most erotic and passionate prose you are ever likely to read. It drags you into the mind of an obsessive trying to do what is right and often getting it wrong.

Title: SUB PLANS
Category:The Golden Onion (Best Comedy)
Author: SNOWWHITEHEART

Bella is a Domme with such stringent requirements for her Subs that they don't hang around long. Enter Edward aka 'Icefinger'. He chooses as their first scene a scenario where he plays a vampire who has been loveless for over a century. He is very thorough in his portrayal, right down to the pile of journals that describe his search for sexual fulfillment through the decades. So thorough that Bella cannot help but think he is delusional. This has moments of tenderness and eroticism as well as humor that balance flawlessly. RECOMMENDED by dihenydd



Title:UNDERNEATH
Category: The Rainbow Connection (Best Slash)
Author: NEWSODARK
When I was trying to think of a dark vamp-slash story Underneath immediately came to mind. This is a captivating story that manages to create a dark and moody atmosphere without resorting to sadistic or cruel characterizations. When something horrific happens to Jacob, a common enemy brings him closer to Edward, whether they like it or not. RECOMMENDED by Sweetp-1


Title: DARK POSSESSION
Category: Fangbanged (Best Smut) and Dead & Loving It (Best Human to Vampire Transition)
Author: LAMBCULLEN
An Edward true to his Vampire nature, arrogant and completely unrepentent. He has his own reasons for turning Bella but they have nothing to do with her wishes and everything to do with satisfying his needs - all of them. This is edgy and incredibly erotic. RECOMMENDED by dihenydd



Title: ULTIO
Category: I Like to Play With My Food (Best DarkVamp) and The Poisoned Apple (Best Angst)
Author: MAC214 and 22BLUE
Darkness comes in many forms and Ultio's Edward has them all (and then some). RECOMMENDED by Sweetp-1

I have to recci this. Every single person that likes dark should read it. Edward is sinister, unrelenting and adamant in his revenge. The guy gives me chills, and that's because he is so well written! RECOMMENDED BY Lambcullen

Title: BREAKING THE GIRL
Category:It’s So Wrong, It Has to Be Right (Best Non-Canon Pairing)
Author: SWILL122
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5827824/1/Breaking_the_Girl
An intriguingly dark and edgy one-shot which features a Leah/Felix pairing. RECOMMENDED by Sweetp-1

Title: YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE
Category:The Glass Slipper (Best HEA)
Author: SHALU
Who is in control? Jasper thinks he has settled into his existence, but Alice brings an earthquake of doubt to crack his foundation.
The first time I read this story, I felt it went against canon; how can Darksper deny Alice anything? How can he push her away? Part of me was angry at that but then I realized, his struggling with himself and his natural desires, denying her, was canon. Darksper has kept her waiting. He cannot deny his love and desire for her and, even though it seems as if he saves her, in reality, Alice saves him from himself and shows him that he is worth loving. RECOMMENDED by Maleficentknits


Title: LOVE IN THE MIRROR ROOM
Category:It’s So Wrong, It Has to Be Right (Best Non-Canon Pairing)
Author: FORBIDDENKISSES

James ends up wanting to keep Bella for himself and whisks her away before the Cullens come to save her.

Title: BATHED IN THE MOON
Category: Bite me. No, really…bite me. (Character I’d Like to Bite Me)
Author: TRANQUILKALE
Waking up in the hotel, Bella stumbles across Jasper and Alice in the throes of passion. M for a reason sexual situations. Jasper/Alice is the pairing

When it comes to vampires, biting and feeding on blood goes hand in hand with sex and lust. Most of us always know in our hearts that Jasper will do anything for his Alice. I have always believed that their sexual relationship involves blood and Alice will do anything for her husband and lover. Here we have Bella spying on my favourite couple in that Phoenix hotel room ~ a seriously hot and intimate scene that would make you want to be bitten by Jasper as well. RECOMMENDED by Maleficentknits






Title: THE HUNTER
Category:I Like to Play With My Food (Best DarkVamp)
Author: KAYBEBABY

But it’s not really either Bella nor Edward! It is the vampire Almos posing as Robert Pattinson playing Edward Cullen in the movie adaptation of twilight opposite Kristen Stewart playing Bella. The story is finished and I love it. Very dark, very vampire lore. AND it doesn’t have a happy ending, although he does sort of redeem himself… sort of.

See I suck! But yeah, I’d definitely nominate her if you can make it fit in any category! RECOMMENDED by LeeCullen

You might also want to consider voting for:-


Ethan Church


Daedalus in Exile


Grasping Darkness

Innocence is Dripping Red
Ethan Church
The Revenger
Ithaca is Gorges
Dark Side of the Moon
Family Therapy Cullen Style

Killing Death by Echo

Summary: Meet Edward; serial killer. At only seventeen years old, he has mastered the art taking human life. Enter Bella, inocent bystandar. When these two cross paths, not only will sparks fly, but so will the blood of their enemy.

Lambcullen says: This fic is like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow....or should it be body at the end of a blood trail? Either way, its amazing. From the moment I read the summary I knew this was going to be perfect for a Deviants recci.

Meet Edward; serial killer.

Echo has a way of placing you right in the middle of a scene. Her words are very atmospheric, and before I knew it I'd devoured all the available chapters.

Water cascaded down the shower curtain in elegant spirals, sliding over the pristine white tiles to finally land on the desiccated corpse lying fully clothed and face down in the stream. Fog swirled around the room in a ghostly mist, fanning along the mirror to expel itself through the open door. Heat and moisture made the air thick, muggy, like it could no longer bare its own weight.

...and that's just the opening paragraph!

Now, don't misunderstand, this fic isn't just a series of random killings. It's not one dimensional. Echo had written it in a way so each and every character stands out. There is a very twisted, but thoroughly thought out plot, all revolving around Edward's past. As a reader, you'll be very intrigued by smattering of an "unknown POV". It gives you another view into what the hell is going one, but also manages to confuse you a little more. This is one of those fics that keeps you wondering long after you've finished the update.

I'm amazed more Dark Lovers haven't pounced on this little gem, because it needs so much more love. I really hope you'll give it a try and leave us a comment to tell us what you thought.

I guarantee its worth your time!


Donna Rai says: Have you ever come across a Fic that after reading you just can’t seem to stop thinking about? Well this is exactly what this Fic has done!!
The Author Echo does a fantastic job of capturing your attention straight away, the writing is absolutely amazing, the way the reactions are described are flawless, you just don’t want to stop reading. It’s twisted, gruesome and sick but yet it’s highly addictive and I love it.

“Slowly, I advanced. I treaded carefully, feeling a sort of defeating dread building up in my stomach. I wished Jacob had come in with me. When I turned the corner and entered the kitchen, the sticky, putrid smell grew stronger. Fighting the urge to run, I turned on the lights in order to see the kitchen.
Then instantly wished I hadn't.”

I find it really fascinating how the characters are linked to one another, very clever; it also adds a nice twist to the story.
The Flash back scenes are outstanding, the attention to detail is out of this world, alot of authors tend to gloss over scenes that involved murder, I am so glad we don’t have that problem with this Fic, I feel if someone is going to write a DarkFic then they should do it properly!!
Echo has not held back and that is what has drawn me so much!
There is Unknown POV’s which I find really interesting, I keep changing my mind on who’s POV it could actually be! No clues have been given yet on who it could actually be but I find that an extra bonus on keeping you on the edge of your seat.
This is a Fic that has the potential for even greater darkness (Getting Goosebumps at the thought) hope you all enjoy.....

“I heard him pursuing me and tried not to fall on my ass. I needed to get away from this, I had to. But it was pointless to run. He caught up to me quickly and suddenly there was a hand around my waist, hot breath at my ear, and a sharp knife at my throat.”

Killing Death on Twilighted.

Shot in the Dark - Renfield's Paraphilia

Welcome to the first posting of a regular monthly feature looking at Dark one-shots. Each month we will be reviewing something short and dark whether vamp or AH.
This is an excellent taster to the Darkside.
Recommendations always welcome.

Renfield's Paraphilia by swill122 and mjinaspen

SUMMARY: The Age of Edward Contest Entry: Lead Detective in the case against Richard Chase, the “Vampire of Sacramento,” Edward Masen faces debilitating nightmares about his unrequited love, slain by the serial killer. DISTURBING IMAGES.

Dihenydd says:-

Renfield was the ‘lunatic’ under the influence of Dracula in the original vampire novel. One definition of paraphilia is “recurrent, intense, sexually arousing fantasies involving the suffering or humiliation of oneself or one's partner”. Renfield’s Paraphilia is the obsession to drink blood for the purpose of sexual arousal.

If there is one story that illustrates that there are undiscovered gems out there this is it for me. I was told about it by swill122 when we were discussing her collaboration with mjinaspen. When I first read it there were 6 reviews on mjinaspen’s profile and zero in swill122’s. It was an entry in the hugely popular Age of Edward contest where it garnered an unbelievable 0% of the vote and was placed third from bottom. Yet I have no hesitation in saying that it is my all time favorite one-shot.

Contrary to popular belief Darkward is not one dimensional and predictable. There are so many complex interpretations, both vampire and human. This is Dark in a very real sense, Edward lives where no light shines and he is punishing himself physically and mentally.

“His regret is so intense, so stifling, he cannot work through it or around it at all. And the one thing that he thought would free him fell flat, dead. It's devastating for him, and we wanted people to feel that.” - mjinaspen

The lyrical third party narrative is told partly through dreams making use of poetic devices like repetitive phrasing and alliteration.

“dreams that make him restless at night and reckless during the day”

"then he remembers the blood corrupting his stomach and retches wretched all over her body"

“The blood seems endless, the supply limitless, his stomach bottomless”

It has a haunting quality that is at once disjointed, unnerving and cohesive. It speaks eloquently of lost opportunities, lost innocence, lost hope.

The almost imperceptible transitions from happy memories, through flirting which is full of expectations, to erotic fantasies and finally full on horror are nothing short of hypnotizing. The inevitable chilling conclusion is all the more repugnant because of its innocent beginnings.

"Every night Edward dreams about Her flirting, the banter, and the moment when everything spins on its axis. She is the object of his uncontrollably destructive desire. In his dreams he wants Her body, yes, but he also wants Her blood, Her pulse, Her life. He wants it all”.

The eroticism is so powerful it is hard not to be affected, then when it all turns bad we feel guilt for being so affected, in much the same way that Edward does. Yet it is in no way titillating or exploitative. It is edgy and gripping with mesmerizing imagery and a truly original plot.

This is a disturbing story that will stay with you for a long time. If you can take the darkness it is so worth the reading.

~{{{*}}}~

Sweetp-1 says: If you're anything like me you'll have read a huge number of great, well written fanfic stories - lucky for us all, good reads in this fandom aren't hard to come by. The flip side of that, is that it takes something truly brilliant to stand out, to stay with you long after you've finished reading, to be the story that you begin to measure all other one-shots by.

Renfield's Paraphilia is one of those stories for me.

Months ago, when I read it for the first time I remember leaving it open for a few days before I came back and tried to leave a review. I wanted to say how much I enjoyed it, and yet, I almost felt guilty for writing that - this isn't an enjoyable read.

This is a dark, disturbing read that haunted me for days afterwards, just as Edward is haunted by his loss, the despair and horror that are so poignantly portrayed linger long after the story has ended.

Edward's story is one of an angry, jaded cop. It's a stark and raw picture - this is a man broken by the things he has seen. Police reports and newspaper headlines give the story an authentic feel that captures the era, and the horror surrounding the "Vampire of Sacramento" case.

"Every day he faces himself in the early morning light. He brews coffee, reads the paper, and smokes four Camels before heading to the shooting range and then to work. Every day he is a dead man walking."

Close to the edge, lost in the darkness of his grief and guilt, Edward is a man who finds little respite in sleep. Seductive and sensually poetic, the dream sequences provide a welcome almost-relief against the desolation of his waking hours. We see the man he might have been, the playfulness and the sinfully sweet descriptions draw the reader in, mesmerized by the erotic turn his dreams take, it's heartbreaking as these precious moments too, slip into horror.

"The milk-white cream is there, all over her thighs. His tongue is jealous as his eyes feast on it. He pushes her thighs wide and whispers, "be a good girl, strawberry, and lay back for me…" At first, he sees pretty white lace obstructing the view between her thighs, but just as he wishes it were gone, it is. She's still focused on him, and she still moans without moving her mouth, and he dives tongue-first into her pink flesh. His gun is laying off to Bella's side, long forgotten in the furor of Edward and her new dance."

For a darkness that goes beyond the stereotypical gore or shocking twist at the end, and for writing that is simply exquisite - Renfield's Paraphilia is simply a must-read.

~{{{*}}}~

YellowGlue says:

"I have to find the strawberries, Bella. I found the cream... Where are the strawberries?"

So, I read this one shot, Renfield's Paraphilia, months upon months upon months ago, when I first found my way into Twific. I poked around FF.net a bit, posted a story, nothing really caught my interest right away. Until I was recc'd this story. It was the first story that not only slamfucked my priorities right away and demanded ALL of my immediate interest, but it stuck with me. For days. And days.

There were only 10 reviews for this story at that point.

Weeks later, still on my mind, I pulled out my copy of Dracula, and sure enough: "R.M. Renfield, aetat 59. Sanguine temperament, great physical strength, morbidly excitable, periods of gloom, ending in some fixed ideas which I cannot make out. I presume that the sanguine temperament itself and the disturbing influence end in a mentally-accomplished finish, a possibly dangerous man..."

Sounds about right...

According to psychological theory, sanguine is one of the four temperaments corresponding to different personality types: Sanguine, Choleric, Melancholic, and Phlegmatic. Out of the four, Sanguine doesn't seem like it would be the primary choice for a typical Darkward. But, upon further research I found that people with this temperament tend to be creative, and often give themselves over to dreams and daydreams. Yes, now we're getting somewhere. They're also very sensitive, compassionate, and thoughtful. They also tend to be forgetful and are chronically late.

"I lost focus," Edward exhales nicotine smoke. "I... dropped the ball. I was late."

Yes, now I'm getting somewhere with these puzzle pieces.

Paraphilia: sexual arousal to objects, situations or individuals that are not of normative stimulation and that may cause distress or serious problems to the paraphiliac or persons associated. More specifically / in this case: the suffering or humiliation of oneself or one's partner.

And her eyes meet his, and they ask, "How does your kind define love, Edward?"

Same as all bodies... same as everywheres...

"... love is sacrifice ... "

Edward is human in this story, BY THE WAY.

I feel like this is crucial, epic even, considering he's the only actual dynamic human Dark-Darkward I've ever read.

The story begins with a police report, written by our main character, Edward. I suppose I could say protagonist, instead of main character, but only very loosely. Protagonists tend to be defined as heroes with whom the readers share the most empathy. And while I did feel a kind of maybe-sort-of empathy for him, well...

Edward is a merciful God, so he answers that prayer with a single long and languorous lick...

When I say DarkDark, I hope I'm conveying my meaning quite clearly.

After the police report, it switches to third person narration, and the camera pulls way, way back from the character. Then switches to a newspaper article, which relays some rather abhorrent information. The camera pans back to Edward then, holding the paper, and back to the third person narration, keeping a generous distance. For a few lines.

Because then, it goes into the nightmares, where

the rougher he dives, the higher she climbs...

and I just love it when authors include bone-crack sounds and a man that knows how to handle a Smith and Wesson 9mm and a man that knows he

can take from her as he pleases.

I'll never think about gun etiquette the same way again.

As the story opens wider, you find that time is completely surreal and nonlinear. Along with space. And many of the actions themselves. First you're here and then you're there, and

his clothes have gone wherever hers have gone...

and it's all

thump thump thump thump thump thumping...

all around him and you.

It reads like a Bosch painting, frighteningly surreal before surrealism ever was, and moves like a Breton Manifesto: "dictated by the thought, in the absence of any control exercised by reason, exempt from any aesthetic or moral concern."

The camera moves closer, and closer still throughout the story, zooming in on details that are all at the same time macabre, morbid, and musical. The whole piece reads reads like lyrical art, which is awesome for one author to create. It is *amazing* that this is a collaboration of two authors, and that the seams between them slip absolutely invisibly. And though it's the images that stick with you the longest:

...nothing distracts him from her strawberries - pink, puckered, and wet from his tongue and teeth...

The rhyme, and the the meter that this story has, the alliteration and the way the story coagulates back and forth, that sticks you tight in the moment and leaves you spinningsick afterward. Sometimes you're reading a story and sometimes, you're being told this story, and *sometimes* you're in the storyteller's head. The voice, like the camera of narration, also fluctuates throughout the story, swings like a blade. Sometimes it's speaking about him, very cold and detached. Sometimes for him, frustrated and seeking and desperate. And sometimes through him, panicked. Terrified. It offers it's own pungent and pyrotic brand of explanations, exclamations, excuses, and eluding inquiries.

There are only 13 reviews for this story at this point.

And this baffles me. It is completely egregious to me, this story and it's authors: swill122 and mjinaspen, haven't received more attention, affection, respect, and love.

It left me instantly disturbed, and still (to this day)haunted, and there's not much in the way of current art and literature that does that. While pitchdarkness isn't for everyone, I believe that when it's crafted this fantastically, it should be praised fearlessly. I could not be more thankful to have been told about this story, to these two girls for writing and sharing it, and to have this opportunity to tell EVERYONE to read it. If you're brave enough.

Far and away, my very favoritest one shot, ever.

ABOUT OUR REVIEWERS

dihenydd betas for lambcullen and other wonderful writers and reads altogether too much Twific.

sweetp-1 is the author of many award winning fics and is currently writing Once we were Kings an Edward/Seth story.

yellowglue is the author of the complete fic The Worst of Weather (reviewed here last week), the EPOV Rose Like Thunder (WIP) and some stunning one-shots.

So there you have our educated opinion - now go read and review it! And don't forget to come back next month for another awesome one shot recommendation.

The Worst of Weather Guest Review

The Deviants are now in full swing. We have a full calendar and are super excited about things to come.
The first week of every month will be Guest Reviewer time...and here's our very first one.





MARIA2906 says:

Did you ever wonder how Edward and Bella’s relationship would have evolved if he could actually hear her thoughts?
Would he have continued to stay away from her physically if he could hear how much she wanted him?
Would he have left her regardless?
Would he have changed her if he saw through her thoughts how badly and sincerely she needed it?

The Worst of Weather answers these questions for us. YellowGlue creates a world of an intense and irrevocable love, and an overwhelming passion that will have you hyperventilating in no time!
The Cullens are vampires, and Bella has a very close relationship with them. Especially with Edward. From the moment they meet they share a very unique bond that slowly transforms into an endless love, and most importantly,...an uncontrollable need.
The twist here is that Edward can hear her thoughts.
And she knows it.
She sometimes uses it.

He craves her blood, her body, her everything. She needs him in ways that scare even her. But why is he holding back?
Why does he push her away?
How will he react to the fact that she has another man in her life now?

I cannot even describe the way my heart pounds like crazy every time these two are alone. I feel like if they would let their feelings take over, they would devour each other.
This story is a must read in my opinion. Bella is determined and passionate and knows exactly what she wants. Edward is mysterious and possessive, and oh so very hot!! It is only 9 chapters and it’s completed!

And the very best part?

YellowGlue is writing Rose like Thunder which is the same story, but from Edward’s Point of View! We get to dive into this mysterious man’s head and see just what he thinks and how he feels.
Lastly, just a little taste...

I felt his hands on my scalp, in my hair, at the back of my neck. Tilting my naked throat to his mercy.
I whimpered and blinked, but was too dizzy and drunk to keep my eyes open.
I felt him breathe in lungful after lungful as he pressed his nose into my collarbone. He twisted my head from left to right and back and forth again and made himself drunk too, on the smell of my blood.
"Soon," he whispered, kissing along my jaw line.
I'd gone from freezing to overheating against his icicle fingertips and lips and hips. "I will have you Isabella, all to myself. And you will know-"
Wet, open mouth kisses down my chin, over my neck. And I couldn't form words but if I could I would have continued to plead.
"Just what it means to beg."

Dihenydd says:

In a genre of almost half a million stories it is pure luck to come across a voice that is truly original. Yellowglue is. Her language is replete with sensuous overtones, evoking all our senses. You can almost taste this story.

“He nuzzled my neck all soft and sweet and I knew he was touching me and could see and hear everything but I couldn't help it: all I could think was sugar.
White chocolate.
French vanilla.
Sweet soft so cold slow churned dulce de leche ice cream.”

So unique is her style that she invents her own language. A language both startlingly sensual and painfully emotive.

The vampires of The Worst of Weather are slightly different from canon. The Cullen family consists of Carlisle, Esme, Edward and Alice; Jasper has only recently joined them. Bella had been unofficially adopted by them some years before; she is in her early 20’s now.

While at school Edward and Bella fell in love. However things went wrong somewhere, or maybe his feelings weren’t as strong as hers. Bella felt rejected and moved away to school needing to try and make a clean break. She is now in a relationship with Jacob.

None of the vampires have gifts but Edward can hear Bella’s thoughts when he is in skin to skin contact with her. She is also his singer. This gives rise to some achingly beautiful descriptions of the way she affects him. Her triple voice - that of her words, her thoughts and her blood all mingle together. Until I read this I never really empathized with his steadfast decision not to change her. These descriptions make it bitingly clear just what he would lose if he did. This is just part of an extremely erotic encounter where he literally gets drunk on the smell of her blood.

“His mouth was open against my windpipe and he was gasping in breath after breath, swallowing every other inhale. Greedy for my sanguine moonshine.
My heart was racing and I knew each beat hit him like a double shot of scotch, straight to the chest. But I couldn't help it. And he couldn't get enough.
He shifted his weight again and nudged my legs open with one of his. I could feel him, hard like a stone pressing against the inside of my thigh.
The game always had this effect, no matter how innocent it may have started on his part.
I whimpered again, louder. I tried to speak and to push him away, but he held me down easily. He breathed in deep from my left temple. Turned and twisted my head and neck. And had started to slowly, almost lazily grind his hips down against mine.”

The story begins with her arriving to spend the Christmas break with the Cullens believing that Edward will not be there. Of course he is.

It is clear that Bella is still obsessed with him. His feelings are less easy to define though. He seems to want it both ways. He wants her to belong to him but doesn’t seem to want to give her anything back, not his attention, not his time, and certainly not his affection beyond a certain point. He allows intimacy for a while just enough to get her (and us) really worked up and then denies her. Leaving her feeling hurt and rejected. He is snide, he is spiteful. Or is he? He certainly confuses the hell out of Bella.

She is crying out for affection and he seems to be continually winding her up and letting her down, making hurtful comments yet acting possessively. She copes by drinking and spends most of her time either drunk or stoned. The UST is tangible, it hums in the air between them.

We become consumed with Bella’s desperation, the agony of her desire and the humiliation of rejection as Edward continues to be aloof. Yet the story contains some of the sexiest lemons you will ever come across.

“I was shaking again, wondering if he could feel the butterflies in the pit of my tummy just under where his fingertips were playing all too softly. I blinked and caught a grin spread as my thought went through to him and he licked at my lips as I parted them once again for his entrance.
My body was writhing next to his, a wriggling wiggle worm of weakness and longing, aching for contact, pressure, friction he was refusing to give. He kissed his way across my cheek and turned my head to kiss along my neck and ear. Wet, open mouth kisses, sapless and suckling.
"Show me…" he whispered. His voice was heavy, commanding my ship.
I swallowed. Hesitated. Wanted kisses.
"Show me what you want Little One." His voice dropped, heavier. Fervent. Clear in what he wanted.
And in the instant he loosed his grip on my wrists; my hands flew between my legs like birds out of cage and my hips raised up off of the bed to meet them.
His smile curled and I could see his teeth; his sharp teeth, bared and beautiful. "Good girl…"”

He might not be what we think of as the classic Darkward - a callous killer - but he has many of the same qualities. He is arrogant, possessive, passionate, manipulative, predatory and ruthless as far as his own agenda is concerned. I can’t recommend this story highly enough.

Amelie Gee says:

I will always have to thank this story for introducing me to Darkward. Even though I always say that YellowGlue is an amazing author - in whatever she writes - the Edward of The Worst of Weather has to be her masterpiece. From the beginning, it's obvious that this isn't the controlled, polite Edward that Stephenie Meyer introduced to us in the Saga; Bella isn't thrilled at the idea of seeing him, she seems to be terrified.

Everything was fine. Had been fine – good even – for months now. School was fine. My painting was fine. The drive back to Forks was just fine.

And then I'd seen his car, that stupid, stupid car. And it turned everything inside and all around me totally topsy-turvy.

I sat still. Still far away from the other cars in the long driveway, right where I'd braked after turning in and spotting the Volvo. I sat still, but my mind was running away in ten different directions.

If I hadn't stopped to get that bottle of water then maybe I'd have beaten him here. Then he would have been the one to walk in surprised and find me mid-conversation with Esme instead of the other way around…

But instead I was here, alone, trying to catch my breath and composure.

He's not even supposed to be here! He's supposed to be in Prague on a work study! What the fuck?


He skulks throughout the story, always seeming to wait around the corner, one step ahead of Bella, confusing and utterly seductive. And though this Edward doesn't sample the wine, he has no qualms about getting drunk off the bouquet.

I felt his hands on my scalp, in my hair, at the back of my neck. Tilting my naked throat to his mercy.

I whimpered and blinked, but was too dizzy and drunk to keep my eyes open.

I felt him breathe in lungful after lungful as he pressed his nose into my collarbone. He twisted my head from left to right and back and forth again and made himself drunk too, on the smell of my blood.

It had been a favorite game of his for years, smelling me up this way.

Sometimes he got so intoxicated his words would begin to slur slightly and he would actually stumble upon standing.

He turned me about like a doll, and burrowed his nose into my hair. Each of my cheeks. My neck and shoulders, pulling the fabric of my shirt away where he wanted his nose against bare skin.

I hiccupped again, half a whine half a gasp as he shuffled his weight on top of me. My thoughts were all fuzzy and firewarmth and I couldn't focus on anything at all.

He twisted his long fingers back into my hair and made fists and pulled back, arching my throat to his good judgment once more.

Cut quick. Please make it quick. The thought flashed through my mind, pure adrenaline.

"Never."

His whisper was rough. He was all over my body and all inside my head. And I felt so exposed. So vulnerable underneath him.

I felt before I heard a low growl deep in his chest. His mouth was open against my windpipe and he was gasping in breath after breath, swallowing every other inhale. Greedy for my sanguine moonshine.

Thanks to Amelie for the video and Bettigefecht for the banner.

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