And the "Love for the Unloved" winners are....

We came up with the idea for the "Love for the Unloved" contest over twitter during early summer, because we both expressed frustration in finding that the Cullens' and Jacob are usually the focus of stories in the Twilight fandom. By dreaming up this contest, we wanted to prompt authors to highlight a B-lister character in hopes we would get some interesting stories that have not been regularly seen thus far in Twi fan fiction.

The awesome authors who entered this contest met and surpassed our goal to highlight and bring love to the B-listers. The 33 contest entries, which in total featured 28 different B-listers, cast light on the Volturi, wolves, non-Cullen Vampire clans, Forks townies, and other students/faculty at Fork's high school.

It was a joy getting to see the B-listers' points of view, and seeing authors describe their back stories, motives, and desires. It appears many of you enjoyed these stories as well, as evident by the reviews, contest polling, and comments that have been shared with the judges or on the twilighted thread.

We want to thank everyone who entered this contest for challenging yourselves to think outside the 'norm' of our fandom. It was very difficult to make our final decisions for the contest, but please know we appreciated every entry! We encourage everyone to check out the C2 community and read all of the entries. Special thanks to our additional judges: mozzer0906, siouxchef, and ejsantry. They were the dream team!

xoxo
FloridaChickie & manyafandom


And now the winners are....

Reader’s Poll Winner:
Feel Me by TwiSherry

The readers voted and have picked a winner. Mrs. Cope gets some loving and a heartbreaking back story in this fic.


Best Overall Winner (judges pick):
Dazzling by onePushyFox

Dazzling is the judges' pick for Best Overall story because we loved the way onePushyFox built her story into the canon time-line, creating a plausible back story for Kate and Garrett. This story is well thought out and flows well between the past and present. The author expanded on the little bit of back story given on the Denali sisters to create a lush and deep past, showing how much they had changed from then to now. Dazzling completely encompassed the spirit of the contest by delivering a beautiful tale of lust and eventually, love. It showed us glimpses of Breaking Dawn from a different perspective, by focusing on characters which were merely set dressing in Meyer's book. The lemon is hot, as is the chemistry between Kate and Garrett.


Luscious Lemon Winner:
Chemistry of a Car Crash by Dahlia J Black

Most of us have been there. You have a crush, and you just can't get that person out of your mind. Being close to them makes your heart beat faster, and you over analyze every word, every small action. Daydreams are consumed with fiery hot, first kisses and more. In Chemistry of a Car Crash, Dahlia J Black tells the story of Angela Weber, a girl in her early 20's working at a university with the object of her desires, Seth Clearwater. Both of them are in other relationships that are on their way out. Angela is eager to fully embrace adulthood by busting out of her shell and experiencing all that life has to offer. She also hopes this includes experiencing Seth as well. It's obvious that they get together, otherwise there wouldn't be a luscious lemon, but getting there is very much a part of the fun! The sexual tension builds up throughout the story and will have you screaming out "yes...yes...YES" by the end. Dahlia's lemon was citri-licious and a clear choice for the judges' pick. She is a fairly new author, and we are eager to see what else she has to offer in the fandom. Hopefully, there are more 'M' rated fics in her future!


Cherry Popper Winner:
A Slow Burn by sweetp-1

A Slow Burn is beautifully written, plain and simple. The 3^rd person narrative, not often seen in the fandom, is very well done. While the reader is a mere watcher to the events, we feel what Angela is feeling; her anxiety, her homesickness, her attraction to her lab partner, and the longing she feels for him. This story isn’t bogged down in minute details, but the ones given completely immerse the reader into the world of the characters. The style is flowy and somewhat flowery, but it doesn’t detract from the story, only enhances it. The lemon is beautifully written and worded. It’s not about the action, but what the character is feeling and experiencing. Sweetp-1 has a natural talent for writing, and we can’t wait to see what she brings to the fandom in the future.


EJ Santry’s Pick:
Begin Again by herinfiniteeyes

I love Bagel Ben!!! Now that I got that off my chest, I can tell you why else I enjoyed "Begin Again". This is a story of Angela, who got pregnant while she was still in high school. We meet her eight years later, a hard working single mom and getting ready for her daughter's upcoming weekend. She has been single for quite a while, and secretly crushes on local bakery owner, Ben Cheney. They have been flirting on and off for a year, and Angela's match making mother, has been encouraging her to hint for more. The story comes to a head when Angela's daughter begs her mother to invite Ben to her birthday party. The invitation and conversation happens as Angela and her daughter stop at Ben's bakery before they start their day. My favorite line in the story happens during this meeting when Ben winks at Angela, and Angela's "...vagina hit the floor in shock."

Some drama ensues when Ben mentions he is bringing a girl to the party. Turns out that the girl is his niece, not a date. After super star Ben, helps with the entire party making it a huge success, Angela's mom forces Angela's hand a bit by taking the girls out to get ice cream after the party is over. Needless to say, our lovers finally find their way to bed. This lemon was not the hottest lemon I ever read, but I loved it, because it was real. The bed squeaks. A four year celebete Angela hurts when endowed Ben pushes into her. Finally, not much post-coital bliss, because the kids will be home soon. A dose of reality is refreshing from time to time. This story was sweet, funny, and a real tale of real people learning to trust and love.


FloridaChickie’s Pick:
War of Attrition by swill122

I was blown away by swill112's LFTU entry, War of Attrition. The author presents a sassy (rather canon) Jessica, who is still inexperienced when it comes to sex. She's not a virgin, but good ol' Mike is naive in the art of making Jessica sing his name in the bedroom. We find the couple spending their last weeks in Forks before moving to different colleges far away from one another. Since Mike has yet to give Jessica the big O, she's afraid she is incapable and not "normal." Rather than being concerned about any long term relationship prospects with Mike, Jessica is nervous about how she might be when having sex with college boys in the very near future. As Jessica tries to take charge of her sexuality before school starts, swill112 walks us through some painfully awkward sexual encounters with these two (think two pump humps), that culminates on the evening of Bella and Edward's wedding. The story's final lemon is unlike any other sexual scene I have read in Twi fiction and highlights swill112's writing brilliance. I don't want to give it away, so go read this gem now. Plus, the last line of the story is freakin' priceless.

manyafandom’s Pick:
The Hunt by rhombica dodecahedron

I was astounded that this was written by a first time writer when I read this story. The narrative and prose used are unique and hauntingly beautiful. This is the tale of Victoria and James, as she awakens alone with no memory of her former life or understanding of what she has become. Following through her adjusting and embracing her vampiric nature. It’s not dark and sinister as one would expect given the pairing but thrilling, beautiful and maybe a little bit romantic. The way the author tells the story is almost poetic, but doesn’t get bogged down in the verbiage.


Mozzer0906’s Pick:
In the Name of Science by crackbabby

I picked this fic as my Judge’s Choice because it was so different from every other fic we received. The author went with a crackfic. Not just a crackfic, but a slash crackfic with a Dating Game style round to determine who the lucky Cullen is going to be. The Dating Game poked fun at so many of the canon characterizations by the end I was crying with laughter. This is a great light and funny one-shot that will put you in a good mood by the end of it. I tip my hat to the author for going a different route for this contest and I wanted to spread the word about this hilarious crackslash.


Siouxchef’s Pick:
Jane by algonquinrt

I loved this one. She is seen as such a sinister character in the books, I enjoyed seeing her having some deeper feelings. I liked the hint of what could have been the reason for her and Alec's turning. It created many questions in my mind as to when they were created, what could have happened and that is a mark of a good fic in my book. Her youth came through in her actions and internal dialog, showing the frustration of early puberty. I enjoyed the intense emotion of this fic very much.


Thanks again for all the support!