Tuesday's Best 2-15-2011

Good morning, my lovelies! I hope you had a fabulous Valentine's Day, and that you're ready to stock up on some chocolate and whatever other goodies that are available just now ;-)

Speaking of goodies! Let's check out what Aradi and I have in store for you today, shall we? Yes, I know Stolenxsanity's supposed to be sharing some lovin' with you today, but due to unforeseen circumstances we had to swap, so you get me, instead ;-) I promise, I'll make it good ;-)

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It’s that time again.

You know... where I get kinda-stalkery and kinda-fangirly all up one side of Conversed and down the other.

The time where I only half-pretend I’m all seriousface and objective-y reviewer, and not totally living in her back pocket.

(When I’m not too busy stalking the other people I stalk.)

(I have to be fair.)

It’s easy to be this way though, when Conversed keeps cranking out the gems.  It’s like she wants us to love her fics or something.

It’s crazy.

So yeah I’ve told you all about Twinned and Seventeen Men.  We’ve also pimped I'm Listening.

Now Conversed has climbed on the drabble train with Age Gaps (or, Age Gaps On The Internet Are Completely Irrelevant).

Age Gaps is older Carlisle/younger Riley, and you know I love unusual pairings.  Their story is told in CPOV over 45ish drabbles.  It is silly... and hot... and sweet.

They meet in an internet forum, and this is why the story resonated so much for me.  I mean, I can already identify with the boylove stories because, hey, I love cute boys too.  I can also identify with the potential and perils of meeting on the internet.  

It shouldn't be easy to describe the essential mind-fuck that my online-friendship has become, but somehow it is.

I find the words and they're simple.

"I got to know someone online, he makes getting up a pleasure, and I can't wait to get home to talk more.

But he's young.

Too young. In real life we'd probably have nothing in common. I miss him terribly."

See thats the problem and the perfection of the internet;  we’re all equal parts old, young, and ageless here.

(Except you, Mom.  Close the browser and go play Minesweeper.)

So Carlisle feels a connection with Riley, but once he finds out he’s much younger, he decides it just wont work.  They haven’t even met “for real” and Carlisle has closed his mind to the possibility (and then completely New Moons poor Riley, fool).  The solution is hopefully in Riley’s unfailing persistence, and the conspiring of some amusing insiders in Carlisle’s life.

(The solution is possibly silly and sweet and oh-so-hot.)

(Possibly.)

(Conversed is definitely all three.  I know this from the interwebs.)

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You know that awful heartache? That horrible hollow feeling that’s left in the wake of a break-up? Those days, weeks, months after, where you simply don’t want to deal with life anymore and you just want to wallow in misery?

Yeah, I think we all know that, don’t we? If we’re lucky, we have friends that help us out of that funk. Jasper was, when he and Peter broke up. Edward was there for him then, despite having a boyfriend of his own who was none too pleased with the extra attention Edward was giving Jasper.

So what do you think happens when Edward reaches that low-point? Well, bmango shows us just how Jasper steps up to the plate in Harbor In The Tempest. Through Jasper’s eyes, we get to see just how poorly Edward is coping with his break-up. And we also get to see how Jasper pushes past his own desire for Edward, in order to help the man who is first and foremost his best friend.

Inside his apartment it's completely dark. The lights are off and the curtains are drawn. The only noise is from the television, and I make my way cautiously toward the sound, stumbling over pizza boxes on my way.

I find him there, sprawled on the couch in his boxers, the lights from the television flickering across his face. Just as I predicted. The thing that I hadn't counted on is his vacant stare, his lifeless expression. Around him are more take-out containers and empty beer cans. A half bottle of whiskey is sitting between his legs and he has one hand wrapped around the neck. I continue to watch as he slowly lifts it to his lips and pours another swallow down his throat, never even acknowledging my presence.

Fuck.

What did that bastard do to him?

"Edward?" I start and then flinch when he turns his blank eyes to me. All the feeling has bled out of them and there's nothing left but a dull, lifeless green.

"Edward, you're scaring the piss out of me. What the fuck happened? Did James do something?" I ask in a soft, calm voice, slowly edging nearer and wondering how I'm going to pull him out of this. This is worse than after Allistair or Tyler or Erik or any of them. And I didn't think he actually liked James that much.

I kneel in front of him settling onto my heels, and his eyes follow me, a small flicker of light in the darkness.

He whimpers and curls in on himself, hugging his knees to his chest. As he's moving, I deftly remove the whiskey bottle before the alcohol ends up on him or the floor and set it on the coffee table. I rise and sit on the couch, pulling him into my lap and just holding him as close as possible, his warm weight pressing into my chest. And although recently I have had some small fantasies of doing just this with Edward, I definitely didn't want it to be under these circumstances.

Will Jasper be able to help Edward get past the feelings of inadequacy and loss that he’s feeling? Or could there be more at play here? To get the answer to that, you’ll have to go read for yourself.

 

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There you have it, folks. Two great stories to sink your teeth into. 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. 

In the mean time, have a look at the wonderful entries for the Twilight No Stress Love Fest. There's several slash stories there, as well as an array of other gems. Check it out, and see if you can guess who wrote/made what. Yours truly has even entered. Do you think you can find me?