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					if we shadows by lela kaunitz http://xenite.simplenet.com/fanfic5/ifweshadows.html SYNOPSIS: Janice, married and pregnant? Say it ain't so! Luckily, it's Mel to the rescue! EWOK: Big smoochie thankyous to our guest synopsiser, (you know who you are!) for that moment of clarity. Meanwhile, what do you make of this oddity, O Nancy? NANCY: Well, anyone with half a memory will know that this bard is one of my top bards featured in Nancy's Picks. Always concise, never a wasted word (even a tendency to leave some out altogether where they aren't absolutely necessary *g*), and right on the mark where characterisations are concerned. EWOK: Right on the mark? I'm sorry, Nancy. I really don't get the ... *grimace* ... Janice and A BOY angle. Please explain. NANCY: He's only there so she can reject him. It's cruel, but hey, it sure made Mel as jealous as hell:-) And wouldn't you ultimately reject someone with plaid pants? Open your mind, Ewok! Even Janice falls off the wagon from time to time. EWOK: Frankly, I’d be tempted to take Dr Covington’s toaster oven away for that kind of behaviour. NANCY: Ewok, you have to admit that the ploy draws 'em in and keeps 'em riveted. I mean, Mel wins Janice back from the other side! Screw Janice's toaster oven; let's buy a truckload of them for our Mel! EWOK: Uh huhhhh ... So exactly what keeps this from being romantic trash? NANCY: It's the lines! This writer can spit out on-the-mark one liners and asides that just send you howling. excerpt: "The Xena Scrolls?" Walt's handshake was firm, friendly. Nevertheless, Mel was fighting against an unladylike urge to flatten him to a bloody pulp. Can't you just *see* Mel doing that? I love it. EWOK: OK, sure, I'll grant you that, but what's with *this* Mills and Boon moment? excerpt: But this was a distant, back-of-the-mind thought, eclipsed by the wonderful sensation of Janice, her Janice, back in her arms again. NANCY: The thing is, with this writer, what's sitting on the surface is never the full picture. This story explores something that's neglected sorely in Janice/Mel fiction. What if Janice or Mel came to *resent* the fact that their feelings are dictated by some long ago couple who insist on taking over their bodies and affecting their thoughts? I mean, how can they be sure that what they're feeling is real, or some legacy left over from someone else? Lines like that, contrasted with lines like this one - excerpt: "But there's this damned useless tag-along bard brat in me that has my soul pledged to you, and there's not a goddamned thing I can do about it." - show the confusion happening inside Janice. It might get a tad melodramatic at times, but it never sounds clunky. EWOK: I’m so ashamed. Janice Covington is wearing high heels, and yet I’m giving it 8 out of 10. NANCY: Good girl. I think this piece stands as a great example of the fact that there are many facets to Janice and Mel, all you need to do is find them. 8.5/10.