Tuesday's Best 11-23-2010

Good morning, my lovelies. Hopefully you're all snug and warm and safe. Just to make sure you have something...nice... to warm up with, Aradi and Stolenxsanity have scrounged up a couple of goodies. Believe me...they'll do the trick ;-) Let's begin, shall we?

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I was so shocked that nobody here had recc’ed One February Friday by LyricalKris, that I had to doublecheck with Naelany to make sure I wasn’t mistaken.  A completed Jasp(Peter)Ward fic and none of us had spotted it?  How does that happen?

Nae, equally surprised by the situation, asked me what the story was about.

“OMG hot boy threesomes OMG,” was my literary critique.

(Yeah, I’m classy like that.)

Better than just a hot boy threesome, One February Friday is a lovely, angsty story about relationships and deciding what you want, and how badly you want it.  Musician Jasper and business Peter have a stable relationship of weekends-only.  Peter steps out of the closet, only on weekends, only in Jasper’s town, and both men think they’re both content with the situation.  Wandering Edward drifts into town and ruins their oblivious balance.

The stranger reached up and pulled the hoodie off of his head, unleashing the most absurdly perfectly disheveled, bronze colored hair. Some of it immediately fell into his eyes in an endearing fashion. Jasper was struck by how strongly he wanted to go to the stranger and brush his hair back with gentle fingers.

And, also, how he wanted to run both of his hands through the stranger's long locks as he shoved his tongue down his throat.

But mostly, Jasper felt a sort of tenderness toward the stranger. Despite the bravado he was attempting, he looked like a little lost boy and Jasper wanted to make him feel safe.

Then Jasper noticed he wasn't the only one looking. Of course he wasn't, this boy was beautiful. But Jasper felt an uneasy inkling in the pit of his stomach at the predatory way some of the bar's other patrons were staring at the kid - like ravenous hyenas licking their chops in anticipation. Jasper knew a thing or two about some of the other guys in here; guys who were looking for a pretty, innocent, easy face. They'd have him strung up on every kind of drug, doing exactly what they wanted before he could blink.

Peter's hand squeezed his thigh. "I know that look," he said quietly, slightly disapproving. "You can't save everyone from themselves, Jasper."

(Friendly TwiSlash PSA:  Don’t go home with strangers for hot threesome action.  However, fictional accounts of such activities are approved, and even encouraged, as long as you share with the class.)

Jasper and Peter have gotten this far by actively ignoring the fact that their relationship isn’t equitable, or even fully satisfying for both of them.  Dropping Edward in the middle serves to shine a spotlight on the problems, as well as ramp up all the emotions (good and bad).

I love this Edward more than I can explain.  He’s innocent-but-not and green-but-wise.  (Where is Alanis Morissette when I need her?)  Peter calls him “kid,” but it ends up being Edward who sees and understands the most.  

My raving about the threesomes in this story isn’t because it is jam-packed with them (it isn’t).  I rarely like them in fics (stop laughing) because they so easily go off the rails.  This story made me “omg” because I didn’t end up skeeved or underwhelmed like usual.

It is difficult enough to write a good lemon, and all you good-lemon-writers have my admiration and appreciation.  But a threesome?  A thousand times harder, no pun intended.  The distance from gymnastics to just-nasty is shorter than you think.  Non-pornstars usually don’t have choreography or mad yoga skills.  They do have feelings, and those should show in their actions instead of getting buried in the logistics of it all.

And sometimes a third wheel just sits there and watches.  (Which is kind of hot.  Just sayin’.)

If you skipped this story because it is labeled Jasper/Peter, be assured there is plenty of Edward.  The relationship between Jasper and Peter is the core of the story, but don’t let it keep you away if you are a JaspWard fan.  Also, everyone has baggage here, so be prepared for some angst and fail.

If you missed all 16 chapters of One February Friday for no apparent reason, join me in feeling oblivious, then go read it all in one sitting like I did.  I recommend bringing a fan, an adult beverage of your choice, and someone to cuddle.  Be sure to leave LyricalKris some review love as you swoon at her boys.

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Has it been two weeks already? Jesus ... where does the time go?! Yea, I don't know either. In any case, here I am back with another rec this week, just in time for Thanksgiving at that. Can I add slash to the short list of things I'm thankful for this holiday season? Better yet, will you?

This week, I bring you Learning to Breathe by the lovely, and extremely talented ahizelm. It's a story told in fifty drabbles (five-thousand words, even) and, before you discount this story on the fact that the chapters won't be more than a hundred words each, rest assured that I would never lead you astray. Drabbles, though short, aren't as easy to write as one would assume. The fact that you have a very strict word limit to adhere to forces the writer really think about what they're writing - the words they use, how they explain things, what can and cannot be cut.

In the author's own words:

The truth of the matter is that I adore a well-crafted drabble. So many people shrug them off as easy, but I would submit to you that a quality drabble is thought-provoking and well written, and it conveys a ton of information while moving a plot forward.

That being said, I will admit that I had difficulty reading this story. Not because it wasn't well written, as is usual for ahizelm's stories, but because of the subject matter toward the middle of the story. I should add, though, that was for completely personal reasons.

Learning to Breathe starts off with the readers not knowing who the narrator is, so I won't give that away - it's something you have to experience while reading it. And it starts off dark, and continues on that way for some time.

It's angsty-romance done to perfection, and served with a side of hot boy lovin' - and then the angst sets back in.

He kisses me back. Edward's hair tickles my skin, and I part my lips, inviting him in. I ignore everything else: my past, the fact that I don't know him, the numbness that is creeping back up my form.

Not to worry, though. There will be more hot boy lovin', and trust me when I say it's well worth the wait. The story that ahizelm weaves through these drabbles, and snapshot-esque peeks into the lives of our main characters, is amazing and well-done and, really, you should just stop listening to me ramble and go read it already. You won't be disappointed - though you might need some tissues.

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 And there you have it. We hope you'll enjoy these stories just as much as we have. Be sure to leave these wonderful authors some love, and check back next week to see what Captain Jezebel and Stolenxsanity have in store for you.