Tuesday's Best 3-29-2011

Good morning, my lovelies! Hope today finds you safe, sound, and all snuggled up. This week, Aradi and Stolenxsanity have scoured the web for some yummy tales to share, so let's find out what they came up with, shall we? Don't forget to grab towels and clean skivvies ;-)

~*~*~*~*~*~

The CarlWard Contest winners are up!

(I may have squeed a little over this contest.)

(Okay, maybe a lot.)

There were some amazing entries in this one, and huge thanks from me (and all the C/E devotees) to everyone who wrote for it.

I've been chomping at the bit to come rec one of my faves, and ended up doubly giddy once I found out who the author was.

For a Season, There Must Be Pain (now also under the author's name as For a Season is by Giselle-lx.

Before I devolve into flailing about her Carlisle & Edward, I need to flail a bit about her.  Giselle-lx writes one of my all-time favorite twific stories.  It's not even slash, y'all.  (I know!  It's crazy talk!)  Ithaca is Gorges is canon and made of pure awesome, and I rec it everywhere (even on slash blogs apparently).

But back to the C/E love.

(And I do mean C/E *love*.)

For a Season is a lovely AU angst-fest told from Carlisle's POV (which is lovely as it's probably unbearable miserable inside Edward's head).  The battle with the Volturi didn't go as well as canon, and Esme and Bella are dead.  Edward has run, and Carlisle can't bring himself to stay with the remaining Cullens.

(A tip for authors everywhere who want to earn a fangirling from me:  kill Bella.  I will love you forever and ever and ever.)

Through Alice's inevitable meddling, Carlisle ends up finding Edward again.

By the fourth game, we still aren't talking, but Edward puts his head on my shoulder at tipoff. He keeps his hood down now, and when I can get away with it, I stroke his hair. It feels good to touch him.

At halftime he whispers that the people around us don't know what to make of us. I'm too young to be his father, and he's too old to be so affectionate. They think we're maybe a gay couple, but it doesn't look romantic to them either.

I'm someone who misses you, I whisper back. That's what they see.

Right when the second half starts, he flips his middle finger at someone a few rows behind us before putting his head back on my shoulder.

I wonder what the guy was thinking.

Even Carlisle isn't sure what he's thinking himself for half this tale.  He doesn't know what to make of the two of them either, which is half the bumbling sweetness.  Turning canon-ish "Carlisle and Edward" into Carlisle-and-Edward always seems so easy (because they were together first!  and Carlisle was alone so long!  and omg the biting!) but really is harder than it seems, especially once Esme has been in the picture, because canon C&E are so decidedly hetero and products of their respective eras.  Giselle-lx pulls it off smoothly here, with an evolution in their relationship that is gradual and heartbreaking and fits perfectly.

For me, the icing on this story's slashcake was all the Cullen detail.  For people that mostly don't directly appear, we get a lot of the "other" Cullens in such a short story.  We also get a lot of Carlisle learning about himself post-Esme (beyond what he's obviously learning about himself and Edward).  It's all very familiar and comforting and takes the edge off the woe.

For a Season won 1st place in the Judge's Choice, and 2nd place in the public voting (so obviously most of you have read it already and understand my love).  Go read it if you haven't.  You won't regret it.  Check out Giselle's other stories (there's even some other slash in there) as she's an amazing writer.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Another month has all but come and gone and I hate to admit that I've been slacking, I have been. A little. Still, here I am with another gem of a story that I discovered awhile ago and have been looking forward to posting as a rec for all you lovely ladies . . . And gents. So, let it not be said that I don’t deliver because today I have a lovely little one-shot to share: Home by MizzHyde. I discovered this story with the help my lovely ficwife and could not stop thanking her enough for the find. So, let me get on with the praise!

It’s a Jasper/Edward fic that takes place in London, though it’s definitely a bit more Edward-centric, especially at first. You don’t know much about his history right off the bat, just that he moves a lot, and his places of residence are not exactly the kind of places that one would want to live. After moving in to this new home, he discovers a locked box in the wardrobe that he is more than curious to open and see what’s secrets it holds.

I considered the pile of clothes on the floor. There were no drawers, so I opened the dodgy wardrobe, but there were no shelves either. The single rail was next to useless as I didn't own any hangers. I sighed and resorted to my usual technique; I sorted the clothes into three of the empty packing boxes – underwear, shirts, trousers – and went to put them in the bottom of the wardrobe. The first two slid in easily but the third jammed halfway. I took it out again and peered inside, trying to see what was blocking it. In my newly created gloom, I couldn't make anything out.

I reached my hand in blindly and pulled out a small case. It was like a tool box, about twice the size of my shoebox, but made of grey plastic with a small combination padlock holding it shut. I carried it over to my bed and tried to twist off the flimsy-looking lock but it held firm. I tried prising it off with the a screwdriver, but that didn't work either. I turned the box over a couple of times, looking for a label or mark, hearing objects shift about inside, but there was no clue as to the contents.

Whatever. I shoved it under the bed and put the final packing box in place at the bottom of the wardrobe. And then I went back to bed.

Curious, isn’t it? Enter Emmett a bit further in, and a letter marked For the Occupier. Reticent though Edward may be to open it, Emmett doesn’t quite feel the same way. Though, to be honest, when does he ever? The letter is opened and discovered to be from the previous tenant, one J. Hale.

"It's from the Hale guy," he said. "It says he left something here, wants to come pick it up."

I jumped up off the sofa and grabbed the paper out of his hand.

Hi to whoever is unfortunate enough to be living in my old shithole of a flat. I think I have left something behind. It's a small box with a padlock on it. The contents aren't that important but as I'm going to be back in London in a week or so I thought I'd pick it up if you still have it. Could you give me a call on the number below and let me know if that would be OK? Cheers.

Jasper Hale

I immediately went into the bedroom and retrieved the box from under the bed. I tossed it to Emmett, who went to work on the lock without needing to be asked. But the damn thing was so small and so tightly fixed to the box, he couldn't get a grip on it with his huge fingers. He wrestled with it for a few minutes, then shrugged and threw it back to me.

"You gonna give it back?" he asked.

"Not until I know what's in it," I replied, suddenly curious. "I think I've got a penknife somewhere. It's got to be possible to open it."

The contents of the box, you ask? Did he return it to the aforementioned J. Hale? Did they meet? What happened? Well, where would be the fun in giving all of that away now? If I told you, you’d have no incentive to read it. Please believe me when I say that it’ll be very much worth it.

~*~*~*~*~*~

There you have it, folks, some more slashy goodness to brighten your day.  Be sure to check in next week to see what Captain Jezebel and Stolenxsanity have in store for you. In the mean time, be sure to leave these wonderful authors some love.