Tuesday's Best 8-3-2010

Good morning, my loves! I hope today finds you well rested, and ready for some new goodies, because Miss Aradi and I have a few things up our sleeves today. So sit back, grab a towel, have some Kleenex ready just in case (because come on, you know us by now), and let's get started.

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I hate recommending fics that haven’t gotten very far.  I know I suffer when stories slip into the limbo of non-updates, so I certainly wouldn’t wish that on a fellow reader.  Then again, when it’s a fic without a lot of reviews, maybe an early rec will help keep the writer inspired?

With that in mind, this week I chose A Tale of Two Cities, the first fic by TruceOver.

A Tale is an Emmett and Edward fic, a pairing we need to see more often (along with Carlisle and Edward... Seth and Edward... Hmm... )

Oops.  Where was I?

Oh right, Emmett and Edward.  Besides the pairing, this story has a lot going for it.  The backstory and characters are interesting.  The boys (men!) are adults and professionals, which is a nice change from the (canon, but tiring) plethora of high school/college fics.  These guys aren’t futzing through coming out;  They have lives.

And they have an attraction.  At the very least, Emmett does, as they meet while traveling for work.  He stalks the mostly-oblivious Edward through most of the first chapter, with the best of intentions of course.

"Business or pleasure?"

I almost laugh out loud at myself - I've just used the cheesiest opening line possible in an airport.

I die inside just a little as I wait for his response, but am rewarded when the corner of his mouth twitches up into a smile.
"Business." He says, and glances down at my lips again.

So life is good, right?  They’ve met.  Edward’s apparently playing for the correct team.  Things should be sunshine and roses and hotel beds from there.... right?

Not so much.

This is my chance, probably my last one, to make some sort of connection with the stranger. So I go for it.

"Would you like to get a drink?" I smile cautiously at him, letting him know that I know I'm being forward, and that I hope he thinks it's ok.

He looks stunned, as if he isn't the most handsome man ever and doesn't get asked out for drinks all the time.

"I…" His eyes move down to look at his shoes, and yet again I feel like I'm going to die inside.

"I don't do…that." He finishes.

I try to make a joke of it, laugh it off, keep it light.

"Do what? Drink? I'm pretty sure the bar will have coke of something else…" I trail off, clinging to what little hope remains.

His face snaps up, and his green eyes lock with mine, determined.

"I don't go for drinks. I don't date. I don't do any of it."

And therein lies the cockblocking mystery.  Poor, poor Emmett.

One thing that makes this pairing so appealing for me, beyond just the relief of not having to keep straight the details of yet another Jaspward in a sea of Jaspwards, is that it is nice to be in Emmett’s head.  He’s sincere.  He’s straightforward.  He’s a little bit stupid sometimes.  He’s mostly happy, but could be happier if Edward would just have a damn drink with him.  And when he does (oh no, a spoiler!) Emmett is stupidly happy. The emo boys are always my favorites, but everyone needs a little dose of simple and happy sometimes.

A Tale only has five chapters so far, but I hope for many, many more.  I’d like to see Emmett and Edward be happy together (even stupidly so).

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Some of you might know that it was my birthday last Saturday, and my lovely partner-in-slash got a bunch of people together and put up a blog which was filled to the brim with stories (Thank you, everyone, so very much). I’ve still not made my way through all of them, but there are two that I’d like to share with you, because they made me stupid giddy and they are both slash-cherry-poppers! So yeah, had to share my prezzies as they are both from very lovely ladies, and talented to boot! ;-)

The first is from Twislash Unveiled’s very own Captain Jezebel! She donned her writing cap and wrote not just a short story (it’s almost 10k!), but she wrote...Emmett & Paul! I love a good pairing, and though I’m absolutely in love with Edward & Jasper like most people are...I honest to God love when the focus is on alternate pairings. Jezzie being the wonderful friend that she is, knew this, and got out of her comfort zone just for me. Not only in writing something, or even of the slash variety, but about someone other than our favorite boys. Love! *mwah*!

As I said, it’s about Emmett, and not just any old Emmett, but an Emmett who is - are you ready for this - a dance instructor! Yum! May I Please Have This Dance tells about Emmett who is, together with his dance and business partner Rose, having to teach a very reluctant and obnoxious Paul to dance for his wedding to Rachel.

Before she could get the words out of her mouth, the rude angry dude started flapping his gums again, asking questions. It took me a second to realize his questions were directed at me.

"Wha…?" I asked, dumbstruck.

"I asked if your little woman is forcing these frou-frou dance lessons on you, too? Don't know why they want us to do this silly shit, but whatever keeps them happy, right? Don't need a chick turning into a nag before you even marry her. Got yourself a hottie there, wouldn't want to make her mad either…smart man. So where is this teacher? I bet it's some old bird or a knob jockey."

You follow along, through Emmett’s memories, the story of how things develop with Paul, what realizations are come to, and what actions are taken. I don’t want to give you too much more, but trust me...as much as you start out just wanting to maim Paul for being a complete and utter douche (which, admittedly, I did), you’ll learn through Emmett’s eyes that things aren’t always as they seem - at least not for the reasons you think. Give it a shot! And leave the woman some  well deserved lovin’! Thanks again, for these wonderful boys, Jezzie!

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Now, I know this isn’t how we usually do things around here, but I’m taking the liberty today, because I can’t not share this.

Show of hands. Who here loves a good vampfic? Even better, a good Edward/Jasper vampfic? I know I do, and I know that they can be hard to find (I Wept Not, for example, is an excellent vampfic), so when the lovely Shalu wrote me Maelström, I did some major squealing. Like, getting weird looks from the husbeast-squealing. Not kidding.

 

Shalu, whom I know from a forum we both hang out in, is a wonderful author, and has a knack for coming up with great twists and turns in all her stories. She’s a master (in my humble opinion) at crackfic (if y’all haven’t read it yet, check out Ed, Jas, and Em & The OnCrotch Call Center. If you’re not laughing your ass off before you’re halfway through the first chapter, you need your funny bone checked), does excellent darkfic (Echoes of the Second Hand). In other words, she’s a lady of many, many talents, and I was lucky enough to have her write some slashy goodness for me. And she’s going to continue it! Seriously stupid giddy-times ensued when she agreed to do so. Kid you not.

 

Oh, well, you want a peek into Maelström? I suppose I can do that ;-)

Jasper’s stranded in some foul weather and is looking for shelter, help, anything. When he stumbles upon a house that’s tucked away between some trees, he finds something he never expected to come across again.

Somewhere behind the door, I heard the soft notes of a what I imagined to be a baby grand floating about the house. Something about the melody was familiar and nearly knocked the wind out of me. For a moment, I forgot about the cold, leaning sideways to press my ear to the wood. A strange pressure began building in my chest, rapidly growing uncomfortable. I stepped back.

Hesitantly, I swung the brass ring in the lion's mouth, striking the plate three times. I felt like an idiot for not checking the weather before heading out on my motorcycle, but I was so antsy to get out, I just left.

The music slowed before it stopped. Footsteps took up the rhythm of the music, getting louder as they reached the door. When it swung open, my heart dropped to my feet.

"Edward."

The first boy I ever kissed. The only person I ever loved.

"Jasper." He stared back at me, mouth agape and his eyes dark and wide. "What are you doing here?"

 

What happened to his first love, his only love? Will Edward let him in, offer help? Why are his eyes so dark, when Jasper remembers a boy with bright green eyes? Will Jasper get his answers, and if he does, will he be allowed to walk away alive? Will he want to?

 

Go check it out and leave her some love, and be sure to put her on alert ;-)

 

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I hope you enjoyed these lovely stories, and that we've given you something to tie you until we're back next Tuesday with more of the best we can lay our greedy little hands on. Be sure to give some love to these wonderful women. 

Also, don't forget to check out the Slash/Backslash 2.0 that's still going on. It's not too late to enter (8/15 is cut off), so there's still time to come up with that brilliant little gem and give it a go. I know there's more slashy goodness out there, and you're dying to share it with the rest of us. Right? ;-)