TwiPeople's Sexiest Ward Alive, September Issue

Yes, you read correctly September. What does this issue of TwiPeople have in common with Bella on her honeymoon? They're both late and yield a hybrid.

Okay let's get past that and talk about the story we are highlighting in our September issue. To quote some Eclipse Bella, "You knew this was coming." So in the spirit of September and 'back to school' there's one school I definitely loved going to as much as possible!

The University of Edward Masen

Despite the fact that it is no longer a fanfiction, it remains one of my favorite stories in all of fanfictionland history. Why?

1.  It spoke to the English nerd in me. It said: hey FF can be really smart and about so much more in addition to imagining yourself with Robward.

2.  It spoke to the part of me that is attracted to a fanfiction story with a heavily burdened, larger-than-life Edward.

3.  It satisfied the part of me that loves a fanfiction story that explores unresolved feelings for a crush. You can read more about the crush aspect of this story and my declaration that this story has four first kisses here .

4.  It is written with humor. God knows I appreciate humor and wit.

We all know of course the author, S.R., has gone on to publish the story, renaming it, Gabriel's Inferno, which you can order your copy of here via Omnific Publishing. I highly recommend it. I lurve my copy. Much like my Twilight books I can just open the book up to any page, start reading, and be totally immersed into the characters and the plot. In fact, don't kid yourself, part of the reason this post is so late is because too many times I got distracted reading the book. I find myself reading reviews of the book and smile at how happy I am others find such delight in the story and are waiting patiently, like me, for the second installment, though I do admit I'll always love the first book the most. I'm all about the 'dance' leading up to the two characters getting together!

And this is why, my friends, we pay tribute to
The Professor (also known to some as Sinward)
by naming him September's Sexiest WARD Alive!

@17ForeverLisa jumped through hoops to get his just right for me! And I think

she did a pretty f*cktastic job!! And there were several early versions and rough drafts!

he's purrrrfect. Can I borrow your white linen napkin Professor? I need to dab up the drool.

This is like a gift for me to have Profward brought to life like this! That's how much I love him and the story, I'm willing to talk like I sound a bit crazy. So thank you Lisa.

In the spirit of English literature classes, (why did I study so much Milton and so little Dante in college?) I'm gonna delve into some symbolism in the book. This means two things:

(1)  **SPOILERS AHEAD** So if you haven't read the story, then I would suggest skipping down to the comments.

(2) If you have read the story, but are bored easily by English class rhetoric, then skip to the comments, I don't mind. I'm bored silly by numbers, we all have our things!!

I'd want The Professor to give me a Starbucks Gift Card with a light bulb on it and tell me I'm very bright if I was one of his students (and then take me to in a museum), so I'm prepared to give my presentation to the class on the recurring symbolism and importance of doors within the story.

The Door:

Figuratively, a door refers to the possibility that something could or will happen. There is a lot of significance attached to a door--it can mean hope, opportunity, mystery, etc.

As I've said, I love 'the dance' leading up to the main characters getting together. The characters in this story did the dance for quite a long time before they came to admit what they mean to each other, but along the way there were many, many times when you thought, "okay this is it, he's going to remember her" and yet The Professor just kept missing his opportunities. Yep, the door was left wide open for him but he kept blowing it!

There are so many important scenes where that pending possibility, the burning desire we feel of what's going to happen next in the plot hovers right by an actual door. As conversations occur at a door the author always achieved a higher sense of anticipation, making you wonder will the characters stay or go.

There is so much symbolism to the door! Will the characters figuratively open the door and walk through it or keep it shut? Will the characters act on what they are feeling and thinking at that very moment in the story? Will the relationship move forward or remain at a standstill? In this story, a lot hinges [get it?] on having a door to the past...and will the characters reopen that door? Will walking through the door reveal their past?

We learn fairly early on what The Professor meant to his Beatrice that one night they spent together six years ago, and we are awaiting for The Professor and his Beatrice to finally figure it all out but it sure does take a while!!! As gradual as the relationship is, so is the progression of what transpires by doors. In the beginning, the doors tease us--each scene with a door is an opportunity for The Professor and his Beatrice to reconnect.

So let's explore that gradual relationship as told by the doors in this story. For anyone who lands here reading this who has not read this story as the original fanfiction and instead is more familiar with Professor Emerson/Julia Mitchell as termed in Gabriel's Inferno then just for you I'm going to refer to Bella/Julia as Beatrice below and Masen/Emerson as The Professor to acknowledge the story in both formats! (Tryin' to show some respect.)

Here we go...
1. The Professor's office door. The first door scene is Beatrice at The Professor's office where she overhears him upset on the phone. And though he has ordered her  requested her to be in his office after class, Beatrice is not ready for the close proximity, face-to-face opportunity wth him so she leaves a note stuck in the door rather than even trying to enter it.

2.  The main door to Beatrice's apartment building. The Professor walks Beatrice to her door after driving her home in the rain. She's nervous and fumbles with her keys to the main door outside her building. The Professor takes the keys and unlocks the door, unaware that he is about to take the first step in unlocking his past with Beatrice. After entering her apartment, he is struck by the fact that she has Holiday's painting.

3. The door to Beatrice's apartment. After coming in for tea and feeling as though he has insulted her tiny home, The Professor leaves. After having closed the door, Beatrice stands against it in tears to think the opportunity for The Professor to remember her has passed.

Or has it?

 A soft knocking is heard at the door. We all know who it is, and we just wonder. Is this it? Does he remember? But no, it's not memories that compel The Professor here, it's shame that leads him to ask her to dinner. (Ohh, and you can just see him touching his forehead to the door because of the shame he felt)  But, he does have a realization here, just as Beatrice is about to shut the door on him, he sticks his shoe out to keep the door from closing and admits that the note she mistakenly used in the door was true and that he really is an ass. The reader wonders if dinner will be opportunity for more realization.

4.  The main door to Beatrice's apartment. Just outside the door on the way to dinner, The Professor offers Beatrice his arm to lead her to his car while under an umbrella. An opportunity for physical contact between the two, just outside the door...foreshadowing? Will he feel something familiar between them?

5.  The car door. Skip to after Beatrice went to The Professor's apartment to have dinner with him and his sister. The Professor now realizes who she is to his sister and what she meant to his family, but he still hasn't figured out this is his angel he took a walk with that one night long ago. He decides to drive her home. Beatrice and The Professor both silently acknowledge a connection that passes between the two of them as he touches her arm to help her in the car.

{picture source}

"Were you ever going to tell me who you are?"

 -The Professor pg 52 Gabriel's Inferno

Nahh, we are rather enjoying watching you make an ass of yourself.

6.  The main door to Beatrice's apartment.  After a whirlwind night out at Lobby, The Professor and his Beatrice find themselves at the front door of the building again. So much has transpired between the two of them since the first time he was there, and there were a whole lot of sparks and emotion going on between these two during the course of the night. So the reader thinks here it is!! The moment has arrived. At the very least he is going to succumb to the temptation and give her a proper goodnight kiss on the front stoop....but instead there is a repeat of nervous key fumbling, to which The Professor takes over with the keys and then delivers a speech about what a gentleman he is. LOL! I think he was talking himself out of giving her that kiss. I love this scene though, because The Professor finds he has to explain himself. It's doubtful he has ever left Lobby and had to explain himself to any woman. All of his explanation, was a confirmation for how he felt for her, but he still hadn't gotten the big picture yet!  

7.  The carrel door. Sometimes, a hesitancy to go through a door is based on the mystery behind it. opening the door to his carrel, The Professor had no idea what awaited him on this day; it was an unexpected mystery. The Professor just stood in the doorway of his carrel, watching, after he finds his Beatrice sleeping.  He envisions himself with her, figuring out the mystery of her, then talks himself out of it. He's not willing to cross the threshold here, allowing the fact that she is a virgin to hold him back. Had he gone through with his fantasy, would he have discovered the secret to their history on his own?

8.  The elevator door. Here it happens finally! The big reveal where she let's him know, I was your Beatrice jackass but you couldn't figure it out on your own so now you've lost me forever. I love how dramatic this scene is--how The Professor is brought to his knees as everything suddenly clicks into place and makes sense for him. It's this Oedipus-sized realization we've all been waiting for, but was he by a door that he could keep from closing? No! This time it's an elevator door--no lock, no key, no knob--heavy steel doors that, once shut, start moving away from him. The heaviest, most serious missed opportunity, that not even The Professor can stop or get back.

9.  The main apartment door. The Professor shows up outside Beatrice's apartment to grovel. He calls her from outside and tells her he is by the door, waiting for her, telling her she can just speak to him through the door if necessary. Beatrice doesn't answer, effectively making The Professor feel like he has been locked out of Beatrice's life.

10.  The Professor's office door. And we come full circle. Beatrice is actually in The Professor's office this time, and she is being reamed out for provoking him and causing a big scene in the lecture hall instead of responding to his calls. The Professor dismisses her from his office and his life, and his Beatrice tries to leave but fumbles with the door lock.

A whimper escaped her lips as she struggled with the lock. He stepped behind her and reached an arm around her waist to unlock the door, brushing against her left hip. When she didn't flinch, he leaned closer, bringing his lips to her ear.

"Tell me you want me or get out." The Professor finally tells her.

"I never wanted anyone else." Beatrice responds.



- Gabriel's Inferno pages 218, 219

(Too bad Beatrice didn't live in a dorm and have a key card because she just sucks with keys and locks!)

After 15 chapers of will they or won't they, missed opportunities, and shoulda,coulda,woulda but didn't, it all comes to an explosive pinnacle right at the door as these two finally admit their feelings to each other. After some hot, holy shit I can't believe The Professor is doing this to me, forgot-to-breathe kissing...they are ready to walk through a door together...to be together.  

And I suppose we could leave it there...but just for fun, let's talk about when Beatrice was about to leave The Professor's apartment.

On the way to leaving through The Professor's apartment door. Beatrice knows everything about that night they met now, including The Professor's sins (addictions) and is ready to walk away from him. She was just too overwhelmed to find out all the information that she did and disappointed to learn that the generous assumption she made of the person she fell in love with was not the reality. But oh my, does The Professor do a good job trying to convince her to stay as he takes the knapsack out of her hands and tosses it aside then presses her up against the wall.

Okay, so technically, at this point, Beatrice has grabbed her abominable knapsack and is heading toward the door and The Professor stops her in the hall, against the wall.

Oh yes, the walls in this story....the walls!!! We'll discuss the walls in the next class.
Class dismissed.

I'll leave you with this!

Made by @17ForeverLisa who loves her leather jacket wearing flashbackward, and I love my Professor.

Thanks to @Lux123_ for helping me make this WFE Professor pic! I love all my professor pics!!!

Apparuit iam beatitudo vestra.

~kiTT

**Lisa toldly made that Professor Manip, the manip of the photograph, and developed some new photoshop skills working out this cover til we got it right. Thanks!