Perv Pack Pick: The Worst of Weather by yellowglue

Title: The Worst of Weather
Author: Yellowglue
Chapters: 9
Words: 52,741
Reviews: 591
Summary: Bella comes home for Christmas break from her freshman year away at university to be unexpectedly all shaken up. Snideward. Spitefulward. Slightly Darkward. Rated M for lemons and fluffiness in future chapters.

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Jess - The first thing that struck me about Yellowglue’s The Worst of Weather was how raw and lyrical everything seemed. I immediately found myself sucked into the way she wrote the myriad thoughts flowing through Bella's mind and how she communicated some of her most desperate thoughts with Edward. This story is full of so many dark themes - desperate often unhealthy obsession with each other and Bella's excessive drinking, to name a few - and in some ways, I struggled with what was actually happening in the story. This is not a shortcoming of Yellowglue’s or the story's, but rather, a testament to how twisted their "relationship" and need for each other often seemed to be. For the first four or five chapters, I kept scratching my head, wondering why Edward was being so cruel and cold to her, and slowly, as the story unfolds, the hurt and pain that they've both put each other through - choices and actions - it becomes clear.

To be honest, the thing that struck me the most was how intense their desire for each other was, and yet how difficult it seemed for them to fully connect, submit, surrender to each other. Yellowglue portrayed their need for each other - the tension and pull, the longing and desire - so richly and viscerally:

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.

While the need for each other was all-consuming, the anger and hurt of decisions past and present weighed heavily on me. Edward's behavior, in my opinion, was an extreme version of his canon possessive tendencies. The way it plays out often seemed overly harsh and cruel, and I found it difficult to stomach at times. While not excusable, Edward's desire to be with Bella and her inability to be with him on her own terms resulted in an extremely tense, sexually charged standoff. Couple that with Bella being in a relationship with Jacob, and you get a Smugward/Darkward that behaves in a vicious way.

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.

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.

Jacob - I thought. But Edward broke our silence before I could speak.

"Don't you dare say his name." he ordered. A snarl. "Don't you even think it."

And like putty in his pretty hands, like a marionette on his string, like a stupid lamb before a sacrifice, all quivering and terrified, I did as I was told. And put my boyfriend far, far out of my mind.

And so, the story progresses, both of them desperately desiring each other, neither willing to give in fully. This story is full of some VERY hot lemons

"Edward..." I ground out through my teeth, hating him, hating that all I could think was don't stop.

Don't stop.

Never let me go.

I hated it.

Edward.

Edward...

"Sometimes," he spoke, moved his grip in my hair to the back of my scalp, kissed up my neck, all around my open and waiting and wanting mouth. "When you beg like that, it's completely... unbearable to not tear you apart."

I licked out to meet his ice-cream sweet tongue as he pushed his parted lips to my own. I moaned against his kiss, rocked my hips against his to create what had just last night become my favorite feeling in the world. The ache between my legs had a heartbeat all its own and I was burning up for more. More of him. More. More...

I moved my whole body up and down the taller length of his. I loved every bit of pleasure that came from rubbing up against him all hard as a snow covered wall all over - one of his hands in my hair, the other still held my wrists tight. I clasped my ankles behind him. I could feel the knots, the divine, delectable knots twist in the pit of my stomach and I
hurt for relief.

I felt, tasted the venom all sweet like we were sucking a piece of cinnamon hard candy between us and I felt my whole body react like a sugar rush.

And that's just the beginning, folks! I have no doubt if you like a very dark Edward, you'll like this fic. It's different than many I've read, and Yellowglue did us right in this one; she wrote the EPOV version of this story, Rose Like Thunder, so we can get inside his dark mind.

Jeanne - This isn’t the Twilight you remember, this is an older wiser, and more realistic story of love between a human woman and immortal vampire that both loves, and craves to kill her. Love is rarely simple, and especially not for these two, but hey, that’s half the fun of this story. Fun being a relative term. *evil grin*

Some would argue that the Edward and Bella that we see in The Worst of Weather are out of character. I would greatly disagree. I see them as very in character, but deeply effected by different choices that are made in this Alternate Universe that Yellowglue has created. She puts these two romantic leads to the test, and allows them to be human (emotionally) and shows how they react to the mistakes each of them make. Love is rarely as perfect as we see it portrayed in the Twilight series, but then again I’m a much bigger fan of realistic love stories.

The Worst of Weather drops us in the middle of Bella’s not so perfect future. She’s an older, wiser, and very unhappy person. While on a break from college she arrives at the Cullens’ to spend the holidays with the only family she has left. Her plans for a relaxing Christmas are blown to hell when she realises that Edward is home.

When I first started to read this story I wasn’t sure what to make of this Bella. Her anger, strength and self deprecating attitude seemed so refreshingly different for all the other carbon copy Bellas in Twi Fan Fic. She feels real, and flawed. As I watched her stumble through these awkward situations with the Cullens and Edward I kept wondering: “What happened?”

This is true of Edward, who may seem a little immature and rude in this story. Some might thrown off by this very fallible Edward. I was thrilled, and intrigued. What went on between Bella and Edward to put them so at odds with each other? This mystery, and the palpable sexual tension kept me frantically clicking to the next chapter.

Unresolved Sexual Tension is so heavy in this fic you could cut it with a knife. At times I almost turned on the air conditioner in my house to cool off while reading. It’s subtle, coming from normally benign moments and even inanimate objects. I never thought I’d be turned on by the idea of Edward’s door. The scene that best epitomizes the unbelievable UST in this story is Bella watching Edward chopping wood.

Edward. Shirtless. Chopping. Fucking. Wood. *FLAILS*

I nearly jizzed my pants over that scene, but not just for the obvious reasons. Bella’s reaction to seeing him this way, how it completely threw her, and how Edward obviously was doing it to get a reaction from her. I mean why else would a fucking vampire chop wood shirtless?

When these two finally have sex it is mind blowingly intense. I was on the edge of my seat, unsure whether they were both going to make it through in one piece. Now THAT is hot fucking sex.

This story is about how the intense love between two people like Edward and Bella can either make or break them. Vampire or human, they both have hearts, and desires that often realistically conflict with each other. Here we get to see what happens when they don’t get it right the first time, but how if they really want it and are honest with each other they can make it through.


Jen - Yellowglue’s Worst of Weather is like Twilight, only the volume’s been amped up to ten. Yellowglue has greatly exaggerated the characters' canon characteristics, and it is so effective in highlighting certain aspects of Stephenie Meyer's storyline. Edward is more controlling. Bella is more woe is me, I am not worthy. Esme is more motherly. Oddly enough, Alice is not the hyper pixie of so many stories—she’s eerily calm. Edward’s self-loathing is magnified times infinity. Bella-danger magnet is now self-destructing Bella. It's positively glorious.

The writing style Yellowglue uses is very fitting for this often drunk Bella. There's a lyrical, dreamy quality.

Part of me hurt; ached with pain and sadness and regret.
Part of me burned; was so angry, wanted to push him away. Into kerosene. And spark a match.
Part of me was pure joy; pure sunshine. Clear and classic pleasure.

Have you ever experienced something with such intensity that you couldn't find the right word to explain it? Yellowglue mashes words together to describe what Bella’s feeling. Here are a few examples from chapters six and seven:

I quivershivered in his arms
growlgroan
didn't have to feel my heart snapcrackle
musthaveness

While a full on lemon doesn't occur until later in the story, Yellowglue’s words are so seductive they'll leave you panting as though you've just orgasmed.

His jeans concealed nothing, I could feel him unbreakable and unrelentingly hard as marble up against my heat. I heard my voice cry out feebly into his shoulder without my meaning for it to.
Anything. Pleasegodfuckgivemeanything.
I'll do anything.

***

He pressed up against me like an animal. So confident it felt lazy, heavy, dominant.
"Please…" I begged.
"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."

Fucking. Ded.

The rest of the Cullens play a far less active role in The Worst of Weather than they do in canon. Despite the ugly way that Edward interacts with Bella in their presence, despite the way he breaks her on a nearly daily basis, despite the fact that they claim to love her like their own child, Esme and Carlisle basically stand by. Esme explains away Edward's deplorable behavior:

"He's so torn with wanting to drain you and wanting to box you up and protect you that it makes him mad. He's tormented by his ambivalence.”

I think if I were Bella I'd have run away screaming from this family, perhaps even going so far as to admit myself into an institution. Although I'm frustrated with Esme's attempt at soothing Bella, I LOVE the way that Yellowglue writes the inverse of canon Edward's claim that 'Actually, Esme wouldn’t care if you had a third eye and webbed feet.’ *

Carlisle’s not much better.

He patted my leg under the down comforter and looked lovingly from me back to his wife. "I tried to tell her: you just miss Edward. You're both so lost without the other."

This patronizing Carlisle is the converse of Dr.Cullen, compassionate vegetarian vampire.

Edward’s blood lust is completely tied up with his sexual lust for Bella; this is explicitly expressed here, where in canon the connection between feeding and sex was implied but left vague. When he isn’t sniping at Bella, he’s sniffing her, so intoxicated by her blood. Bella welcomes whatever shred of closeness he offers and silently begs for more. From his actions and words you can’t quite be sure whether he loves Bella and is afraid of hurting her or if he hates her and just wants to end her. He keeps whipping her into a sexual frenzy and then backing away, usually being cruel in the process. You almost want to say it is an abusive relationship, or at the very least a co-dependent one. As the story goes on we can see that Bella isn’t the most reliable narrator and that what seems one way to her is seen very differently by Edward.

I was completely captivated by The Worst of Weather and swept away by the lyrical style. Edward and Bella have an amazing push/pull to their relationship that is enhanced by Yellowglue’s style. The sexual tension is fantastic, and leads to some amazing vampire/human sexytimes. If you enjoy AU go read it; make sure you have a block of time to dedicate to it as you wont’ be able to stop!

* Twilight, page 327

Kitty - I have to be honest here; I don’t think I “got” The Worst of Weather . I did enjoy the sexy times, but the rest just seemed to go over my head. I don’t know, it just didn’t seem to click with me and I really wanted it to. Now, I like a dark edge and OOC, but this seemed a little too far for me to grasp.

Teal - This story sucked me in immediately, and I’m pretty sure that I went directly to Yellowglue and threw myself at her in a virtual hug/cling/worship. First of all, it’s Darkward. And not just any Darkward, but the kind that is full of angst . . . angst so angsty and hurty that you feel like you’re the dude in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom who has his heart ripped right out of his chest by the super freaky Mola Ram. (Hell yes, I remember that shit, and I have a sneaking suspicion Yellowglue may appreciate my graphic comparison.)

Point being, holy fuck is the relationship between Edward and Bella volatile in this story, but it’s just so irresistible. In fact, when I began, it took me a little while to determine if this was an AH story, or if the Cullens were really vampires. The language and descriptions in the beginning made it difficult to tell where it was all going. So well played =)

Now I’ll warn you, The Worst of Weather is definitely an addictive read, but at the same time, there are times when I found it really hard to process chapter after chapter without a little break in between to let my mind relax. You will want to know what happens, but you don’t have to feel alone if it’s ever too much for one sitting. I give major kudos to Yellowglue for her intense style and caustic relationship between our favorite characters.

I’m also a huge fan of AU stories, which you may or may not know about me, so this is a real treasure in my book. While the circumstances and time frame are different from the familiar, I felt as though these characters were not so far removed from canon.

There will be times these characters will piss you off -- both of them -- and times you’ll just want them to accept everything and be normal. Then there will be times the lemons (which are fuckfuckfuckfuckinghot) will become so in depth and emotional that you’ll probably go looking for a glass of wine to calm down after reading them.

All in all, The Worst of Weather is crazy, poetic, rhythmic, aggravating, beautiful, frustrating, strange, wild, and wonderful all at once. Yellowglue has a gift with this style. She writes deep, enrapturing characters, and her story really goes go full circle, keeping you wondering what will happen until the very end. If Darkward or angst are your thing, this is a must-read. If you’ve never ventured into that genre, give this one a try because you will love/hate both Edward and Bella, and the luscious lemons will make it worth your while.

Mad love to Yellowglue for sharing her talent and gorgeous story!

Trin - First and foremost I have to say that I loved the lyrical writing of The Worst of Weather . I felt that I was reading poetry at times which was an unexpected reward. Then, of course Edward in a red plaid hat chopping wood well, that was just the cherry on top.

This story is not for the faint of heart as it does intensify some of Edward’s and Bella’s more negative characteristics. I’ll just say it...DarkWard. With the original Twilight series Meyers skims over some of this, but Yellowglue really brings it to the surface. This story is a delicate, sometimes painful dance between Edward and Bella, but it is rewarding in the end.


Chele - Having been through several hurricanes, I can tell you that this fic is aptly titled. The first chapters perfectly portray the frenzy during a storm watch. When Bella arrives home to the Cullens, it’s clear that trouble is brewing, but there’s no way to know exactly how bad it’s going to be. We try to prepare, to fortify ourselves with that which will sustain us through this cyclone of emotion and sexual tension.

If New Moon hadn’t happened, and Edward had continued with his insistence that Bella have human experiences, I believe that the events in The Worst of Weather may very well have come to pass. Every character’s canon personality is there, amplified by time and desperation. Bitterness, want and desire have eroded the shiny glow on Edward and Bella’s interactions, leaving them raw and edgy.

As Jen noted, yellowglue’s lyrical writing style really sets her apart. Her prose reads like a melodic spell, and her words speak to all of my senses. It’s easy to get caught up in the swirl of Bella’s head, swept away by her bitter confusion.

Yet, like a storm,there is a calm center where hope still blooms; hope that there can be more for these two than a bitter ache and unfulfilled desire.

The Worst of Weather contains one of the most intense masturbation scenes in my recollection, and the underlying sexuality which drips from every word will satisfy even the most hardcore perv. Yellowglue builds a steady increase in sexual pressure with vivid descriptions and subtle expositions of want until you feel you can’t take it any more. Then she gives it to you, gives it all to you, and it is amazing.

The quality of writing is top notch, though the flow of narrative takes a bit of acclimating because it is so unique. It is worth it opening your mind to the words that flow like water and wind. The Worst of Weather will leave you soothed and satisfied, exhausted and exalted; as if you’ve been washed onto the rocky shore after being lost at sea.