OpenHome: Author Recommendation by FanFicAholics Anon Ferla & Silverspoon

When two FanFicAholics read and review two very different stories, then discover as they rave about them, that they have in fact just R&R'd the same Author, they decided to share with all you other FanFicAholics the mutual pleasure they found in OpenHome's Fanfiction.

OpenHome has 6 fics under her belt and if the reviews by Ferla aka Chaz and Silverspoon aka Samantha, are anything to by, then OpenHome should be your next stop for a witty, empathic and real story to read.

If your prerequisite is twilight characters, she has them. 'Who we are left behind' is a Charlie & Sue twilight one shot telling the love story of two humans with immortal children, or try 'Singularity' a Alice & Jasper fic which opens with Alice's awakening from a life she doesn't remember, into a life she has no idea how to live. Sporting 35 chapters, 'Singularity' is a complete fic and even has a sequel 'Coalescence' which follows A&J from their first meeting to their union with the Cullens.

But OpenHome hasn't stopped there, she also has Rosalie & Emmett in an AH fic called 'Resolution'.

Ferla writes:

'Resolution'
By Openhome

Rated: T
Language: English
Characters: Rosalie/ Emmett
Genre: Romance

Resolution:
-a resolve or determination to do something
-the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action
-the mental state or quality of being resolved or resolute; having a firmness of purpose
-a solution

I couldn't even tell you exactly what made me start reading this fic in the first place. I knew I wanted to read a one shot and I knew I wanted something different. Everything these days majority Edward and Bella. I wanted to shake things up a little, just a little.

I certainly found different with this fic. Not only is it a Rosalie and Emmett story, which is hard to come by in it's own right, but it's also AH. It's a story about Rosalie's questionable love for Emmett. In the beginning the author wrote about how the idea for the story came to life.

'The idea for it came from a discussion on whether or not canon Rosalie truly loved Emmett, or if she simply loved a dream. I thought it was an interesting question because I know many of us who have loved a dream more than reality, and yet we still call it love.'

This truly caught my attention, and I couldn't wait to start reading. Not many fics these days write about real life situations. I mean, it's fiction right? We use it to escape our real lives, whether it be because they are hectic, lonely or just plain boring. Why, in their right mind, would anyone write about a married woman, with a couple of kids, questioning how she could love a man who was obviously at fault for them living in a trailer and her having to work as a check out girl. In the words of Rosalie;

'Rosalie Hale should never have been forced to live on beans and cheese bought with WIC credit.'

Yeah they're doing it tough big time when they're having to ask for hand outs. I know I've certainly felt the pinch as the economy has hit it's highs and lows over the last few years, so I could sympathize with Rosalie.

What happens only moments after that statement from Rosalie, makes her life spin on it's axle. She is forced to think differently. To step outside herself and look in. You ever have an 'aha' moment that shook the very foundation of who you are and how you've lived your life up until that moment? Everything is as it is because of you and not those around you. Those you continue to blame because you would never, under a thousand suns, be the cause for such failure.

As we follow Rosalie on her swim from the bottom of the murky waters, she sifts through all her wrong doings. It's quite enjoyable and heart warming watching her put things in their rightful place. It's the kind of story that gets you thinking about your own life and It's not often that a writer can do that, especially in fanfiction.

The ending to this fic is as real as the beginning. I walked away with nothing but respect for the writer and for her characters. There was not a single 'as if' moment in this fic, which is something that happens to me often. Yes it's fanfiction but I need it to be believable to an extent. However this is the first fic I've read that was real right down to the very consensus that in some places, I could liken it to my own life. For that reason I definitely recommend that you read this story and review!

Keep in mind that this is the writers first AH story and give her some much needed love. While you're there check out her other stories, that we haven't had room to rec' this week.

FerlaV

OpenHome has one more fic in her pocket, based on SM's SciFi novel 'The Host'. OpenHome writes 'Toddler wars'. Now, I've never read a 'Host' fic before but after reading Silverspoons review, it's now on my 'to read' list!

Silverspoon writes:

'Toddler Wars'
By OpenHome
Rated : K+
Language: English
Characters: Wanderer/Lucinda
Genres: Sci-fi/Humour

How do you handle a strong willed toddler when you were never a child? Well Openhome’s tagline had me smiling immediately. As all experienced toddler wranglers know, (short of swimming with sharks sans the safety cage), there is no task in this world more dangerous, terrifying, and yet oddly rewarding. So I decided that the chance to examine how an outwardly perfect alien life would handle the role was an opportunity too great to pass up!

This beautifully penned oneshot is set around five years following the events of Meyer’s acclaimed adult novel ‘The Host’, and sees Wanda now married to the love of her human life- Ian. The couple now have a three year old son named Ryan, whose tantrums and unruly behaviour see a heavily pregnant Wanda driven to the brink of sanity; a feeling so utterly familiar to those who have spent more than ten minutes of their life in the company of a tenacious tot! ‘Toddler Wars’ focuses largely on the relationship between Wanda and her delinquent young son, whilst very effectively dealing with the plethora of confusing emotions that come hand in hand with motherhood. Ill- equipped to deal with the sometimes violent and almost always unreasonable ways of a human child, Wanda turns to the women of their underground community for help in taming the beast. Whilst I must admit that Wanda was perhaps my least favourite character when reading ‘The Host’, I felt that Openhome’s portrayal of the Soul had evolved the character well into a likeable and often flawed woman.

My initial attraction to this oneshot was utterly selfish; I have two toddlers at home and was thereby reeled in by the title. However, I have to admit that I approached the piece with some scepticism at first. Too often on FFN do you find oneshots labelled as ‘humour’ to be sadly lacking, (albeit charming), and yet this piece had me laughing out loud in all the right places. The language used and grammar employed were near flawless, and Openhome succeeded in creating a very convincing representation of the early mother/ child relationship. I particularly enjoyed the perceptiveness of the piece. Openhome often referenced the feelings of overwhelming responsibility that come with childrearing to even the best of human mothers, and so the assumption that Wanda with her gentle ways would find discipline to be her undoing was spot on in my opinion.

Perhaps my favourite moment of the entire oneshot was seeing a tired, hormonal and unwillingly angry Wanda battling to give Ryan a timeout. Any parent/ carer who has ever employed the famous ‘naughty-spot’ method will doubtlessly be smiling already! Without giving away too much and spoiling the piece for future readers, this part of the chapter was simultaneously heart-wrenching and yet very funny. Wanda’s fear of losing her child’s love through her need to discipline was touching and well conveyed, and also utterly true to life. It also seemed a natural progression in the story’s arc to see the other community dwellers come to Wanda’s rescue whilst also regaling her with stories of their own youths. Whilst Wanda is given further insight into the workings of the mind of a human child, the reader observes a beautiful picture of Wanda’s struggle to adjust to life as one of the humans.

Overall, ‘Toddler Wars’ was a well-written, colourful and touching oneshot by an author who evidently prides themselves on presenting only the best to their readers. The conclusion of the oneshot left me giggling, satisfied, and yet wanting more at the same time. The ‘grammar-Nazis’ among us (myself included) will be suitably impressed by the careful attention taken in this piece, while readers who prefer to concentrate on emotional content will also struggle to find this lacking. I thoroughly enjoyed my brief visit to Wanda’s imagined future-world and left this oneshot feeling refreshed, entertained, and above all as though my inner-mummy was wholly amused. Written with understanding, care and wit, this oneshot is too good for any Meyer fans to pass over; and so with this in mind I urge you to ‘go forth- read, review and spread some FFA love’.

Samantha Fisher a.k.a. ‘Buffy’s Stake’/ Silverspoon

Banner made by Ferla V