The Possibility of Being (2012 Beauty and the Beast zine)
| Zine | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The Possibility of Being |
| Publisher: | |
| Editor(s): | |
| Date(s): | 2012 |
| Series?: | |
| Medium: | |
| Genre: | het and gen |
| Fandom: | Beauty and the Beast (TV) |
| Language: | English |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Possibility of Being is a 162-page Beauty and the Beast (TV) anthology of Vincent/Diana fiction by Lydia Bower. Some is adult content
The zine has no interior art.
Contents
- Journey (5)
- Halfway to the Stars (13)
- Gravity & the Fear of Falling (62)
- Vessel (91)
- Never Diminish (120)
From the Zine
Every story begins with the writer asking, “What if?” This one began with several “what ifs.” The first being: “What if I could draw on everything I learned from my writing mentor, way back in the day, along with just a fraction of the inspiration and joy her written words have given me, and write a story to give something back to her in return?” In case you’re not familiar with Nan Dibble, she was a pro writer who dabbled (and did it fabulously) in fanfic. Nan was one of the first people to welcome me into the BATB community, and to encourage me to try my hand at writing fanfic. I’ve always written things, from as far back as I can remember, but Nan is the one who brought focus to my craft and pushed me beyond the limits I’d thought myself capable of.
You may be familiar with her “official” Beauty and The Beast novels, Beyond Words, Beyond Silence and Bright Spirit Descending. But she also edited and contributed to the Phoenix series of 4th Season zines and wrote what I consider to be not only the finest piece of BATB fanfic ever written, but one of the best pieces of fiction period, her Acquainted with the Night series. If you haven’t read it, I encourage you to seek out fellow fans with zine collections or the newly reopened Crystal Rose Lending Library and get your hands on all three books in the series. No one wrote, or ever will write, Vincent and Diana as authentically, convincingly, and as lovingly as Nan did - no one. And I’ll stand toe-to-toe and argue to the death with anyone who reads the Acquainted with the Night series and disagrees with me. ;)
Sadly, we lost Nan in 2006. This zine is a tribute to, and in honor of, her memory. Those of you familiar with her BATB works of fiction may find signposts sprinkled here and there among these stories that harken back to something Nan wrote: a phrase; a snippet of dialogue; a conjecture; an idea. This was completely intentional on my part. Much like the living spirit of Catherine residing within Vincent, I feel as though Nan occupied a small part of my creative mind and heart as I wrote these stories. I think she’d be pleased to know that. I hope so, anyway.
Some of the other “What ifs?” I wanted to explore included the desire to find out what Vincent might do if he were afforded the opportunity to have Catherine back in some form, and that after having fallen in love with Diana. And since the thought of writing an SND makes me break out in painful hives, I went about it in a SSD sort of way: SSD = She’s Still Dead. A new category of BATB fanfic perhaps? ;) I also wanted to explore the cruel and twisted world Gabriel and Snow occupied, and since they were both dead by the end of the series, I had to create a fitting antagonist for Vincent and Diana. I tried to mesh the two ideas into the character of Celina Corbin. I think it worked fairly well. I’m sure I’ll have my regrets when I go back and read this through someday in the not-so-distant future. Such is the life of a writer, filled with never ending “I should haves,” to go along with the “What ifs.”
I also wanted to bring back Elliot Burch, who was always intriguing when he showed up during the first two seasons of BATB, but became wholly compelling to me during the 3rd. heart-broken when we lost him in Beggar’s Comet. But then, his body was never recovered, was it? I felt I could bring him back and still stay safely within canon. I don’t think Stosh is quite finished with me yet. I’d certainly welcome the opportunity to bring him back out to play in some future story.