Good morning, my lovelies! Hope you're all doing well, and are ready to face your day. Aradi and I have returned with some goodies to share - and there's a few this time, as Aradi generously went for a three-for-one rec today. Let's see what she found, shall we?
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The fandom needs more AU-vamp.
There, I said it.
I want vampires! Is that too much to ask? Vegetarian would do... I suppose... in a pinch... but vamps with red eyes are hot, and we all know it. For the love of Edward (or of Jasper, or of Edward/Jasper)... BITE SOMEONE ALREADY.
When I look at the fics I’ve recced here so far, only two of the seven have had vamps (Said and Done and Tracking Redemption). That percentage is probably higher than it would be across all the Slash fics (and across the fandom in general), because I naturally gravitate to those fics. Of the fifteen winners in Slash/Backslash 2.0, I think only two had vamps (The Ungraceful Art of Falling and Tears in the Snow). Both were excellent, and both were of the veggie-Cullen variety.
There’s nothing wrong with AH. There’s just so much of it. Nothing is sadder than blurring together your fics because you have a hundred “college AH Jasper/Edward” fics on your favorites list (alongside a hundred more “high school AH Jasper/Edward”). Great writing is great writing, regardless of the topic, but as a reader I just tend to set the bar so much higher for a fic that has too much in common with too many other fics, if that makes sense.
Plus I just want someone to BITE SOMEONE ALREADY.
The plotbunnies are rampant in a world with vampires, so I don’t know why more authors don’t choose to write one. There’s infinite opportunity for angst, odd couples, odd-couples-with-angst, darkness, and gore. And BITING.
With that impromptu tantrum in mind, today I have a few O/S recs, if you want (some of) your boys vampy. (Hopefully my fellow reviewers wont stake me for being greedy. O/S are like potato chips...)
First, go read The Ungraceful Art of Falling if you somehow magically haven’t already. (You have no excuse for this, as you should have read all the Slash/Backslash 2.0 entries, or at the very least the winners.) Sareisle won First in the Judges’ scoring with this story. It is near-canon and tragic and angsty and I nearly cried. It’s a Seth (xEdward, almost) story, and it is wonderful.
There, I said it.
I want vampires! Is that too much to ask? Vegetarian would do... I suppose... in a pinch... but vamps with red eyes are hot, and we all know it. For the love of Edward (or of Jasper, or of Edward/Jasper)... BITE SOMEONE ALREADY.
When I look at the fics I’ve recced here so far, only two of the seven have had vamps (Said and Done and Tracking Redemption). That percentage is probably higher than it would be across all the Slash fics (and across the fandom in general), because I naturally gravitate to those fics. Of the fifteen winners in Slash/Backslash 2.0, I think only two had vamps (The Ungraceful Art of Falling and Tears in the Snow). Both were excellent, and both were of the veggie-Cullen variety.
There’s nothing wrong with AH. There’s just so much of it. Nothing is sadder than blurring together your fics because you have a hundred “college AH Jasper/Edward” fics on your favorites list (alongside a hundred more “high school AH Jasper/Edward”). Great writing is great writing, regardless of the topic, but as a reader I just tend to set the bar so much higher for a fic that has too much in common with too many other fics, if that makes sense.
Plus I just want someone to BITE SOMEONE ALREADY.
The plotbunnies are rampant in a world with vampires, so I don’t know why more authors don’t choose to write one. There’s infinite opportunity for angst, odd couples, odd-couples-with-angst, darkness, and gore. And BITING.
With that impromptu tantrum in mind, today I have a few O/S recs, if you want (some of) your boys vampy. (Hopefully my fellow reviewers wont stake me for being greedy. O/S are like potato chips...)
First, go read The Ungraceful Art of Falling if you somehow magically haven’t already. (You have no excuse for this, as you should have read all the Slash/Backslash 2.0 entries, or at the very least the winners.) Sareisle won First in the Judges’ scoring with this story. It is near-canon and tragic and angsty and I nearly cried. It’s a Seth (xEdward, almost) story, and it is wonderful.
Love fucking sucks. It sucks because it creeps up on you, and suddenly you're feeling all these things and your brain is going absolutely crazy trying to work out what it all means and then all of a sudden it hits you. Love.
And the first thing you think is fuck. I'm screwed. Because that thing you had going was a great friendship. Because those touches that were lurking in your subconscious, that kept you hard and aching all night were nothing more than a fleeting brush. Because he was wrong. Because he was a he. Because he was a vampire. Because he was in love with someone else.
Then, if you like blood-drinking vamps, try the angsty Jasper/Edward fic To Taste Your Bloody Kiss by Darkira. This was also a Slash/Backslash 2.0 entrant, and has a vampire world that is far more True Blood than Twilight. These vamps are about as “civilized” as they can be without being veggie, so there is BITING OF PEOPLE. There are also light dom/sub overtones to this story, as part of the hierarchy of this world’s vampire culture, not as blantantly BDSM. Consider it a bonus if you swing that way, and something that shouldn’t get in the way of enjoying the story if you don’t.
The bond between me and Edward was a combination of all three. At first he had been my pet, sort of. Not in the usual way, but I had seen him and I had wanted him, so when he first got sick I gave him my blood without him knowing it, while he was sleeping, to keep him safe from other vampires.
The second part was me turning him when he got so sick he would have died otherwise. That bond was the strongest one.
The third bond... We shared blood. Quite a lot. At first it wasn't consensual, but neither was anything else I had done to him at first when I had to control him somehow and it...it aroused me, and him. He had forgiven me most of that first year together about ninety years ago. After all eternity is a long time to hold a grudge against your maker.
At the extreme end of the vamp spectrum are stories like Backseat Bloodshed by Lifelesslyndsey. This one is Jasper/Peter, and I’d call it a dark (grisly) (slashy) comedy. If you can appreciate not just the vampy biting of people, but actual BITING of people, this fic will brighten your day in glorious shades of red. If you can’t handle arterial spray with your boy/boy love, don’t click that link. Seriously.
And it all came flooding back, the blood, the bodies, the tearing teeth biting along my jaw. Some of those scars had nothing to do with newborns, some of those scars belonged to Jasper. I felt myself groan low and dirty, as he sank his teeth into the mark, his Mark, the one that left me dead but undying.
And oh fuck, I felt like I was dying all over again as he bit into my lip this time, not enough to tear, but enough to hurt. He nipped, forcing my mouth open, invading me, drowning me, and what the fuck had we been doing all these years without each other? We were fools.
So there you have it - a trio of slash fics containing vampires. May they go forth and inspire someone to write more (at a gore level of their own choosing).
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As some of you may remember, the Plot Bunny Contest happened a little while ago. I had the pleasure of being one of the judges there. Not only that, but I submitted several prompts. One of which - well, a few of them, actually, but never mind that - was written. And written beautifully.
Heart’s Desire, by mrsyt31, is the story of Riley. He’s had a crush on Edward ever since he stepped in and saved him from a group of bullies, not long after Riley started at Forks High. He never in his wildest dreams thought they’d be so much as friends, let alone that Edward might harbor feelings similar to his own, so when Edward takes him under his wing, Riley counts himself very lucky.
Watching Edward though, is harder than he believed possible, especially when Riley overhears something that makes his heart plummet into his stomach - Edward’s going out to the school dance with Bella.
Is everything as it seems though? That, you’ll need to go read. Here’s just a little taste for you:
Does Riley end up going? Check it out for yourselves. I hope you’ll enjoy these two as much as I did - and I for one hope that we get to see a little more of them. What do you say, mrsyt31?
Heart’s Desire, by mrsyt31, is the story of Riley. He’s had a crush on Edward ever since he stepped in and saved him from a group of bullies, not long after Riley started at Forks High. He never in his wildest dreams thought they’d be so much as friends, let alone that Edward might harbor feelings similar to his own, so when Edward takes him under his wing, Riley counts himself very lucky.
Watching Edward though, is harder than he believed possible, especially when Riley overhears something that makes his heart plummet into his stomach - Edward’s going out to the school dance with Bella.
Is everything as it seems though? That, you’ll need to go read. Here’s just a little taste for you:
I suppose it doesn't even really matter, because I would not trade this last month for anything. And even though I know that Edward will be dancing with his arms around Bella tonight, I can't help but wish that it were me there with him instead.
As I leave school after my last class of the day, I see Edward waiting for me at his car. This has become our routine. But as much as I love spending the time with him, it tortures me. It eats at me to be so close and not be able to reach out and touch him the way I want, and I end up overwhelmed with emotions whenever we are together.
"Please say you'll change your mind about tonight," he pleads. "It won't be the same without you and I can't stand the thought of you at home by yourself while I'm at the dance with everyone else."
Does Riley end up going? Check it out for yourselves. I hope you’ll enjoy these two as much as I did - and I for one hope that we get to see a little more of them. What do you say, mrsyt31?
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And there you have it. Be sure to leave all these fabulous authors some love after you've read their stories. Check back next week for more stories to err, warm up your days with ;-)
Oh, and before I forget, I just wanted to remind y'all about the cool site that LaBellaLeigh is putting together to make finding your favorite fics and authors (or pairings) just that much easier. I posted an announcement for it last week, but here's a link to Twifictionary.
1 comment:
Oh, yeah! BITE SOMEONE ALREADY! I'm definitely more into the AU than the AH these days (it's that blurring that did it). We definitely need more vampslash. When I write it I tend to go canon, though, so less of the biting people thing if it's the Cullen's I'm writing. One day I'll do Edward in his eating-bad-people years again, but slashy this time ;)
Thanks for pushing the vampslash on here!
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