Rec of the Week

This week's recommendation is Destiny Awaits by Midnight Seductress.

Summary from ff.net: After Twilight. When Alice leaves to find her future, Bella makes a her a promise that will change everything.

This story picks up on Bella's 18th birthday, but takes a decidedly different path than New Moon. Alice leaves to seek out a figure from her visions, leaving Jasper heartbroken and Bella with the promise to look after him. Jasper clings fiercely to Bella at first, and from there, their friendship grows by leaps and bounds.

The characterizations here are fabulous. Bella is very well done, selfless as usual and wanting to do anything she can to help Edward's family. She also grows up a bit throughout the course of the story, realizing that things with Edward may not be as perfect as they once seemed when he becomes jealous and controlling as Bella spends more time with his family without him. Jasper also has some superb moments of control of his emotions and blood lust.

With a twist on the situation of Edward's leaving Bella, the plot of this story moves forward at a good pace, showing Bella's growing relationships with all of the Cullens. It's very much a Bella and Jasper story as much as a Bella/Jasper, as both of the characters progress through the story learning about themselves and each other.

Though this begins with canon couples, it ends up BellaxJasper after some creative shenanagins to get them to admit their feelings for each other.

Rec of the Week

Afterlife by thatisastory

Summary from ff.net:
Becoming a vampire was supposed to mean a new beginning for Bella. Instead tragedy is visited upon the Cullens, and Bella is neither alive, nor dead, left to keep a promise she wishes she'd never made. This is her Afterlife.

Why this needs to be read: It's a gorgeous story about dealing with grief and reconnecting with those around you. After the death of Alice and Edward, Jasper and Bella attempt to deal with their grief as best they can, which is to say not at all. Eventually, they reconnect, and Jasper and Bella leave the Cullens behind and set out on a road trip. A bond develops between them and slowly they begin to heal.

It's not updated very frequently, but the waits between chapters are worth it. The author captures the characters very well, and even though there are moments of OOC-ness (which is to be expected given their mental states), everything fits so well together. I highly recommend this fic for the quality of the writing and the depth of the characterizations and the wonderfully crafted story.