"The Slowest Burn" by Typokween

Posted by Anonymous

Elena,

I don't really have the words to express how grateful I am to have met you! You entered my life with so much enthusiasm, energy, and ideas that I literally felt like I was blown away. You took over working on the layout and gave Ms. Swan's Bookstore the professional look it deserves! Without you, there wouldn't be a 'Wards and 'Ellas Wiki and our readers would have missed out on so many great stories!

Sweetie, this is my way, our way, to say thank you! Thank you for investing so much in MSB! Thank you for always replying to messages, even if you are busy as hell! Thank you for being patient enough to teach me some CSS skills and thank you for being you! The Slowest Burn is one of the most well-written fanfictions out there and deserves, no, needs to be read! We hope that this little review will make those aware of you and your talent who aren't yet!

We love you, sweetie!

Mandy, Cherie, and Caitlin

----------------------------------------

"He makes everything better. I feel like I'm headed in the right direction, even though a small part of me is scared about it. It's too good; it won't last. What if I fall in love with him?
Who am I kidding? I'm halfway there, if not on the cusp of it."

(The Slowest Burn, ch. 18)

Growing up is not an easy thing to do. Especially if you want to stay true to yourself and those you love...

Bella Swan seems to have everything a 17-year-old could want: she is a cheerleader at Forks High School, has a great social status and tons of friends, and dates the town's golden boy Jasper Whitlock. Reality, however, tells a different story: Bella's fellow cheerleaders make it a habit of tantalizing her to no end, her social status is only supported by her best friend Rosalie, the people she surrounds herself with don't care about listening to her problems and last but not least Bella's subtle feelings for Jasper are overshadowed by the intense pull she feels towards bad boy Edward Cullen.

Bella and Rosalie in their
cheerleader uniform

For the longest time, Bella tried to fit in with the result of losing herself while doing so. Instead of voicing her opinion and thoughts, the 17-year-old student keeps quiet and simply offers careful nods and smiles. Afraid of screwing up and forfeiting her popularity Bella walks down the path of least resistance, the path, she is supposed to go. Her best friend and fellow cheerleader Rosalie Hale, is one of the few people who know the real Isabella Swan.

from left to right: King,
Black, and Cullen

Until he comes. Edward Cullen. One party is enough to let Bella lose all her inhibitions. She gives into her desire and spends her first time with Fork's most notorious high school student. A troubled rebel with serious anger management issues, Edward a.k.a. Cullen rules over the small town he grew up in. Together with his best buddies Jacob Black and Royce King, he is involved in some serious drug pushing, preferably weed. Cullen's personality is very complicated yet also immensely interesting: while being crazily aggressive, stubborn, and full of pride, he is also incredibly loyal to those he holds dear and feels a possessive love for Bella. According to The Slowest Burn's author, Typokween, some of Cullen's main character traits were even based on former real life acquaintances of hers: "I base this Edward off some of my ex boyfriends, some of my friends ex boyfriends, and some traits I like to see in a 'boy boy'. Notice how I say 'ex', which means he’s probably the kind of boy you want to stay away from! Haha. As for the hoodie, I don’t know what to say other than the fact that every bad boy I’ve ever encountered wore a black hoodie."

Cullen (in his trademark
hoodie) and Bella

Even though Bella tries to stay away from Cullen, she is simply unable to forget their amazing night together. Furthermore, Cullen's possessive nature keeps her from distancing herself from him. He makes it perfectly clear to her what he wants - her - and is not willing to go down without a fight. From chapter to chapter the reader is able to detect Bella's inner struggle. Deep inside, she knows that being with someone like Cullen would ruin her reputation at Forks High forever, yet never seeing him again, seems equally, if not even more, terrifying. What all of that results in is UST, unresolved sexual tension. To make matters even worse for Bella, she also has to deal with Rosalie's unexpected pregnancy and her long lost friendship with Jacob Black...

Cullen and Bella

The Slowest Burn is one of the most read and most highly acclaimed ExB fanfictions out there. Almost every review you can find on the net about TSB praises the story for being so realistic, something that was and is of utmost importance for Typokween while writing: "A great story is written in a way that is realistic, even if the situation is far from it. I love when it’s obvious the author has done their homework on their stories to keep things as realistic as possible. I always ask if something I write sounds too cliché, cuz I hate that. But I know it’s inevitable, so I always try my best to put my own twist on my writing." Part of her own twist is definitely to keep the reader waiting. In the beginning, Bella outright ignores Edward and the feelings she harbors for him. Instead of acting on her desires she tries to release some of the sexual tension with Jasper, which, let's be honest, is not be easy for some of us to read. But even after it becomes clear that Jasper is out of the picture, Typokween lets her readers almost starve to death when it comes to some sexual actions. She only throws a bone every once in a while but each time she does, it is unforgettable!

So far, The Slowest Burn consists of 37 chapters and 317,822 words. The story is rated MA for lemons, profanities, and angst. Outtakes from the story can be found here.

WORK IN PROGRESS

Extras

Playlist

1. Earth to Bella (Part I) - Incubus

2. Come Down - Bush

3. High For This - The Weeknd

4. Stars - The Xx

5. Bloodstream - Stateless

6. Center of Attention - Jackson Waters

7. A Heavy Abacus - The Joy Formidable

8. Rich Kid Blues - Lykke Li

9. Lonely Day - System of a Down

10. Forget That You’re Young - The Raveonettes

11. Coming Down - The Weeknd

12. Heart (Demo) - The Pretty Reckless

13. Heavy In Your Arms - Florence and the Machine

14. Know This, We’ve Noticed - An Horse

15. Down Boy - The Yeah Yeah Yeahs

16. Love Sick (Once Again) - The Hundred In The Hands

17. Six Underground - Sneaker Pimps

18. Gold Gun Girls (Acoustic) - Metric

19. Dance On Our Graves - Paper Route

20. Earth to Bella (Part II) - Incubus

Bonus Tracks

21. Glory Box - Portishead

22. You - The Pretty Reckless

23. Devils - Say Hi

24. Save Me (Wake Up Call) - Unwritten Law

25. Planets - Adema

Chapter Covers

Additional Story Stills




Praises

"The Slowest Burn has taken me on a sweet journey back to high school, filling my head with memories of good times and filling my heart with love for all of these characters."

(PAWsPeaches)

---

"I love this Edward and Bella. I think this fic definitely has the makings to be one of the great[est ones out there]. It's so unpredictable. I can't wait to see where the author goes with this one."

  (Marissa)

 ---

"This Edward is fu**ing sexy, and I definitely love me some Possessivward."

(samrosie)