Saturday, September 26, 2009

Calling all wolf girls!

I'm in need of your one-shots, your novel-length, you chaptered series - all surrounding our lovely imprints and alphas! I don't have that unreasonable of terms, but I just need a little help finding some more rec-worthy stuff. I want to start back up with One-Shot Wednesdays, but I've gotta find some good one-shots!

All I want is some well-written, in-character, wolf/imprint fic. Any genre, any length.

You can respond here or PM me on FF.n - I'm not sure if you know, but my penname is independenceindividuality. You can also contact me through my twitter, if you want: writeitaway.

I'm also particularly interested in the other imprint couples besides Jake/Nessie and Quil/Claire - J/N is my forte and my passion but I've got to represent the other couples too. I'm just having a hard time finding the fics.

Oh, and one last, very important requirement: the fic must be completed or updated regularly. I will not rec abandoned fics, no matter how amazing they are. I think it's entirely too mean to get people hooked on something that won't be completed.

But besides that - let me know your favorites! :D

Friday's 'Review This' Rec of the Week (coming to you on a Saturday): A Wolves Moon by Tinkerbella C

I'm here - late, but here - with the latest Friday rec of the week! Delivered on a Saturday, of course. It is:


A Wolves Moon by Tinkerbella C


I've been meaning to rec this fic for awhile now but the author had gone on vacation and took a break from updating so I didn't want to get people hooked on it before they could start getting regular fixes.


I can honestly say that this fic is different from any J/N fic I've ever read. I'll give you the premise in a few sentences:


Jake has been missing for a year. No one knows where he is or if he's even alive - all doubt he'll ever come back . . . except Nessie, of course. When he does return, he's not the Jake we all know and love. He's feral, not even able to phase back into human. He doesn't remember who he is or why he's here - just a certain attachment to a copper-haired girl.


The author, Tinkerbella C, harbors some serious talent for description of certain - ahem - aspects and it's obvious as her writing improves as the story progresses. That's always the sign of a good writer, in my book.


Jake eventually is able to phase back - after a long process - but he still doesn't remember much and he still has nightmares. He's dark, traumatized, and still slightly feral - but still completely Jake.


There are complications that keep our imprint and alpha apart, like always, but not what you generally expect from Jacob/Nessie fics and a recent development in the last few chapters has got me wondering what's going on. In the good way.


Tinkerbella C's Jake is extremely animalistic, even when he's gained back most of his human roots, making his . . . lust extremely hard to deny. A wolf wouldn't, after all.


And let me tell you, Tinkerbella C writes this . . . very well. Another interesting twist she has is making Nessie's body work more . . . animalistically as well, in certain ways.


I could gush for pages but I'm going to stop now and go ahead and get this out to you since it's already a day late - I know, I'm horrible. But don't take it out on A Wolves Moon, because really, it's awesome - you've gotta check it out.


At press time (that makes this little blog sound so much more important than it is!), A Wolves Moon stands at a very recently updated 28 chapters, so pace yourself and you might have a few more by the time you get through it. I, unfortunately, did not do this and devoured it all the night I found it.


Whatever you do, however you pace yourself, fast or slow, make sure you review each chapter. She deserves it.


\*/


Here's all the info:


A Wolves Moon by Tinkerbella C

Nessie is struggling to deal with her changing feelings for Jake when he disappears. Returning a year later, he has gone feral and has forgotten his links to his pack, the Cullens, and Nessie. Can she help him remember who is he or has he changed forever?



Where you can find it all:


A Wolves Moon (Rated M and reads about that)


Tinkerbella C's Profile


Friday, September 25, 2009

Apologies all-around!

So sorry, you guys! I know I was supposed to update today, but things just didn't work out. Tomorrow's my birthday, but I don't have anything planned, so I'll do my best to get it to you tomorrow! I know I suck, but today sucked pretty bad too, so please understand.

Please don't hate me, y'all. :D

Friday, September 18, 2009

Alphas and Imprints' Official Banner/Pic/Thing!


Okay, girls, so I was contemplating the idea of making some kind of banner or icon for Alphas and Imprints. I was all excited about it until reality caught up with me and I realized I have absolutely no talent at anything even related to icon-making.

So. I decided I'd go on the net, find some generic pic with a wolf on it and try (try being the operative word here) to do something with it. Well, I googled 'girl and wolf' and this is the first pic that came up.

I'm calling it fate.

I don't think if I'd spent hours describing to an artist how I wanted it to look, it could have come out like this. It was on tinypic, which I'm not familiar with, but I searched for who posted it and was unable to find out and their terms of service said that when you post to the site you relinquish all ownership and it becomes permissible for anyone to download and edit it. Or that's what I understood anyway - feel free to take a look and correct me if I'm wrong.

Now - I'll go ahead and state it: this isn't mine, I do not own it. I didn't draw it, I didn't edit it, I didn't contribute to it; I did a google search, found it, and fell in love.

Tell me if you agree. Until further notice, this is the official Alphas and Imprints banner - if anybody knows how to write on it, that's be awesome. Please also feel free to inform me if I'm doing something illegal and I'll take it down immediately. I don't want to steal.

I'm gonna go drool over the perfectness of it some more!

- Nadia

Friday's 'Review This' Rec of the Week: Quil's Resolve by Roses in May

This week, Alphas and Imprints' Friday 'review this' rec will be:


Quil's Resolve by Roses in May


I've recc'd Roses in May before. her first story in this lovely Quil-saga (Quil's Guilt), in my one-and-only One-shot Wednesday so far. Yes, I've gotten lazy.


Quil's Resolve really is the perfect follow-up to the one-shot it proceeds. As I think I've mentioned, Roses in May's writing is hilarious and sweet. Her pack-interaction is gold.


I have to admit I did get annoyed with Quil in this one - back and forth, back and forth - he does a lot of unneeded worrying. He has, I think, entirely too many mental blocks set up and the things he's making mountains of are really little more than molehills if he'd stop and think for a few seconds.


I like Roses in May's Claire, even though she does annoy me at times too. But that's because she is a teenager and Roses in May writes her like one. And well, to be frank, teenagers can be annoying. I would know, I am one.


Claire worries about what her friends think and thinks homecoming is the most important thing ever, but in the center of it all resides her love for Quil. It's why she pushes so hard, why she keeps scratching as his resolve. She could have gotten herself a little highschool boyfriend to paw around with but she doesn't, she wants Quil. And I think that's admirable.


Also, although I understand where Quil's coming from, he comes off a bit hypocritical. Quil admits to having had a, um . . . physical relationship with a bartender when Claire was younger. He eventually stopped because of the guilt he started to feel, but he doesn't seem to understand why it upsets Claire so much.


I think Claire, although she comes off as impatient, is actually quite the opposite because she gets it up to the ears. With the "I love you, I want you, I want to be with you, but not right now - just wait a year" - I mean, it'd drive any self-respecting girl crazy!


I'm not trying to list reasons you shouldn't read the story - not at all. It's brilliant - the characters are flawed and real. They say stupid things and sometimes they're hypocritical and sometimes they're selfish but they keep coming back for more because I guess their love just doesn't let them give up.


Throughout the entire thing, I just kept begging them to sit down and have a logical, honest conversation. I guess that can teach us a real life lesson, huh?


Besides, the occasional laspes in Quil's resolve (not the title) are fun to read.


To sum up, Quil's Resolve is sweet, funny, slighting frustrating, and an all-around great read. And it's complete.


Not to mention there's some Seth/imprint action with a very original OC. You won't expect it until it happens. So go get surprised and come back and tell me what you think.


Poor Quil. Poor Claire. They'll work it out eventually.


\*/


Here's all the info:


Quil's Resolve by Roses in May

Sequel to Quil's Guilt. As Quil's resolve begins to falter, he pushes Claire away. Can he overcome his fears, or will his hesitation tear them apart?



Where you can find it all:


Quil's Resolve (Rated T, but comes off as a definite light M, heavier at times)


Quil's Guilt (One-shot that precedes Quil's Resolve - you can also find the review for it somewhere around here!)


Roses in May's Profile

Friday, September 11, 2009

Friday's 'Review This' Rec of the Week: Life Sucks and Then You Live Forever

Okay, so here's a story I've been dying to rec since the very beginning:


Life Sucks and Then You Live Forever by Charlotte Webber


I really don't know what else to say besides how awesome this fic is. Charlotte Webber's an awesome writer with a plot that, over time, I've seen evolve into something unbelievable.


It's got all that stuff a lot of fanfic writers skim over (myself included) because it takes too much research or they don't understand: politics, science, death. I think what separates Life Sucks from pretty much all fics is the way it handles and views death - in the Twilight series it's seen at the ultimate end, but Charlotte Webber doesn't seem to see it like that. Even for vampires.


Nessie, her family and her wolfy pal are living in the jungles of South America until . . . complications occur. And when I say complications, I do mean complications. Charlotte Webber weaves so many plots and subplots together seamlessly, and I have to admit that recent postings have left me hanging on the edge of my seat. That girl knows how to give a riddle, let me tell you.


She also is really good at the little things, which I've made it clear I'm a fan of. My absolute favorite is how her Jake always kisses Nessie's hand after she shares her gift with him, even when she doesn't know she's been showing him something.


Life Sucks and Then You Live Forever has so many stories running through it, touches on so many different subjects, but it doesn't get overwhelming. It just drives you a little crazy because there's so much you want to know and see and only so much she can fit into each chapter!


She matures her Nessie very well and brings her and Jake together in the sweetest way, not to mention the way she writes them together. Let me withhold a fangirly squee/sigh when I tell you that you'll love her Jake. Strong, beautiful, a true leader and in character. Oh, and of course crazy in love with Ness, even when she's not so sure about that all the time.


Charlotte Webber touches on things in this story that I don't think have been done before in Twilight fanfic, and certainly not in Jake/Nessie-fic for sure. If they have been, I haven't seen them. Tribal politics, new ideas and theories on imprinting, and maybe some ground breaking discoveries for vampirism? I don't know - I'm still waiting for her to update and tell us!


Life Sucks and Then You Live Forever stands at 40 chapters as of last night, and Charlotte Webber updates fairly regularly. Not regularly enough for me, but that's completely to do with my over-eagerness to devour everything she writes and nothing to do with her writing speed. Forty chapters in less than five months is pretty speedy. Her review count has thankfully been picking up lately but not near as much as I think it should. So go change that.


Life Sucks and Then You Live Forever is funny, sweet, sad, poignant, romantic, insightful, realistic and very, very worth some of your daily-alloted computer time. It's also more than worth skating your fingers across the keys for a few minutes to leave a review that, I'm sure you'll agree once you read it, Charlotte Webber fully deserves.


And I mean, hey: with a little like that, you know it's gotta be good, right?


So skedaddle (I've just discovered that's a real word and will now be using it often) on over to FF.n and discover my current obsession! Make sure you to drop back by here and gush your opinion - I love to hear it!


\*/


Here's all the info:


Life Sucks and Then You Live Forever by Charlotte Webber

Nessie's journey from pre-teen to adult is difficult, awkward and sometimes funny as she tries to convice Jacob that Actual Age, determined by Carlisle's battery of academic, physical, and psychological tests, is more important than Earth Years.



Where you can find it all:


Life Sucks and Then You Live Forever on FF.n (Rated T and it reads about that, maybe the lightest M)


Charlotte Webber's Profile

Friday, September 4, 2009

Friday's 'Review This' Rec of the Week: A New Morning by LJ Summers

Alphas and Imprints 'Review This' rec of the week (I love saying that) is:


A New Morning by LJ Summers


A New Morning is a very, very well-done take on the transition from child-to-adult imprinting. Nessie/Jake fics generally round the same bases: Nessie grows up, she and Jake come into the awareness of that (occasionally Nessie does before Jake which can add a few chapters of drama), some outside threat makes itself known, the Cullens band together to annihilate said threat, Jake and Nessie get married and have 'babiez'. Or occasionally do the whole 'no, we're young, no need to get married - we're not like Edward and Bella - we just want to sow our wild oats' thing. But I digress.


Anyway, I think it's safe to say that about ninety-five percent of Jake/Nessie fics use this template. I'm not complaining, there's actually a lot you can do within those parameters, I'm just stating a fact of life. My fic is one of those that take the traditional approach, so I'm definitely not knocking.


It invariably comes down to how well you do it. Your dialogue, your situations, your writing. I'm not denying that the plot is important, but I'm a firm believer that if the writing is fabulous, the plot can actually fall into second place. You don't have to have action packed into every second if the writer knows what they're doing.


LJ Summers rounds all the Jake/Nessie bases in A New Morning, and she does it in style. Moreover, it's T. Yes, I said it: T.


A New Morning starts off with the Cullens and our favorite pair moving house to the jungles of South America. A twist on the usual destination of the Cullens, although not completely unheard of. The bases are rounded, threats make themselves known, etc. Although if you were expecting the Volturi, think again.


A New Summer is chock full of the little things that, in my opinion, are what make fics great. Nessie receives a statue for her birthday every year from Jake with the same mysterious symbol hidden in each one, Nessie doesn't exactly fully mature magically on her seventh birthday, not to mention the entertaining 'improving the bloodline' references throughout.


Not to mention, the writing is superb. Amazing, really. It's kinda got me wondering if LJ Summers is a published author exercising her secret love of Twilight on the low (just kidding), although with the writing displayed in her fic, she very well could be.


I always end up typing and typing without really saying much or saying the same thing over and over again so I'm gonna wrap this up.


Her Nessie is awesome, her Jake is awesome, her plot is awesome. Her writing is awesome. LJ Summers is awesome.


I do have one little complaint about this fic, though. A little nagging thing that I find just ridiculous and unable to wrap my mind around: it only has 119 reviews!


Now that's just ridiculous.


So go change that. All of you (all thirteen of you - haha), right now!


Oh, and I almost forgot to mention - A New Morning has the best wedding that I've ever seen in any fic. Ever. But I'll let you see that for yourself.


So, until next week - bye, girls!


\*/


Here's all the info:


A New Morning by LJ Summers


Jacob and Renesmee travel from New Hampshire to Brazil and back to Forks and La Push as they redefine their relationships . . . for better and for worse . . . And as Nessie finds herself threatened by a vampire and his son out to redefine bloodlines . . .



Where you can find it all:


A New Morning on FF.n


A New Morning on Twilighted


LJ Summer's Profile on FF.n