Tuesday's Best 4-26-2011

Good morning, my lovelies! I hope today finds you all happy and healthy. Now I know that last week I said it would be the good Captain and me doing recs, but unfortunately RL had other ideas and Captain Jezebel will be taking a break for a while. So please wish her well. You'll be missed, my good Captain!

In other news, Conversed has agreed to join TU and will be doings recs with us, starting today! So bid her a warm welcome! Let's see what we've come up with, alright?

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Every time someone adds one of my stories to their Fanfiction favorites, I feel compelled to click on their profile link and take a look at who else is on their list.  I’ve found some fabulous fics that way and Bellemeer’s There’s a Crack in Everything was one of my ‘favorite’ finds.

The premise of this story isn’t that unusual - Jasper is a famous actor, Edward is the enigmatic and somewhat tortured artist – but the setting and plotting are unusual enough to make this an increasingly entertaining read.

Jasper is on location in Australia.  Edward is a Brit, now resident in Aus.  They first meet at a gallery where Edward, who is very private and guarded, is showing his art.  Jasper immediately explores some common slash-fic themes:

'God, when was the last time I actually felt genuinely attracted to someone?'

‘Since when have you ever thought of a man as being sexy?’

‘I probably imagined it all.’

Unfortunately, Jasper doesn’t make a great first impression.  It takes time, and some fancy footwork by the people who care about them, but eventually these two hook up…as friends. Edward is understandably dubious;

"You want to be my friend?"

"Yes"

"Platonic? No sex?"

His face reflected his disbelief, but there was something else there, too. Something I couldn't quite put my finger on.”

Jasper ends up spending a good amount of his downtime between filming scenes hanging out with the lovely Edward.  They get nearly naked together, they get wet together, and they perform together at a local bar.  They would have such a beautiful friendship if it wasn’t for Jasper’s dick.

It’s true.

Jasper has trouble keeping his dick on the straight and narrow;

“Holy fucking shit, he's beautiful! Down, buddy, down! Under no circumstances do you have my permission to make your presence known today. Limp, think limp.”

To be honest, Edward isn’t any better.  The more time these two spend together, the more time they spend having.. um.. quality time in solitary showers;

“You're a bad, bad boy, Edward Cullen. Naughty, naughty. Mustn't fantasize about the guest in your downstairs bedroom.”

The UST level is FIERCE right about now.  The story is fifteen chapters in and absolutely worth a read.  I particularly enjoy the familiarity of a Brit/Aus voice, and I could see during my initial reading that trading back and forth between British vocab and American must have been tricky for Bellemeer.  I have a lot of sympathy for non Americans writing Twi-fic!

That said, Bellemeer has recently started working with the ever-so-helpful Cocoalvin.  I’ve noticed that when Cocoalvin betas for new(ish) writers, good stories get great.  This is absolutely the case with this story; it’s shaping up to be all kinds of fun.

There’s a Crack in Everything is just like Australia.  It’s hot, steamy in parts (lots of parts), and reassuringly familiar while being just a little bit exotic.

Enjoy!

Conversed.

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This is one of those stories where I just have to ask: if you haven’t read this already, why the hell are you wasting your time on here and why aren’t you running to go check it out? Seriously.

Okay, okay, I will admit that the pairing of If Only, by sadtomato might not be everyone’s cup of tea. Hell, for some of you it is a very definite “hard limit” (I really don’t like using that term when it comes to silly things like that, sorry). But trust me. It’s soooo worth putting any squick you  might feel aside for a while, and delve into the mind of Jacob as we follow him along an interesting path.

Jacob is gay. His roommate - and best friend, Edward - is... straight. And very accepting of the fact Jacob is gay. Edward is the one Jacob goes to for advice, comfort, you name it. All in all, they have a great relationship, and have each other’s backs.

Only thing is... Jacob’s starting to realize he’s falling for his bestie. The thing that drives this home? *clears throat and points to the teaser below*

The living room is quiet, though. The TV is off. The lights are all off, except for one lamp that Edward's clearly left on for me. I grab myself a beer from the kitchen and head to my bedroom, resigned to a night of Internet porn and getting myself off. I walk past Edward's room and pause; the door is open, which is unusual.

All of the lights are off, but the city lights and moonlight streaming through his window illuminate him perfectly. He's lying in bed, a dark grey sheet covering him up to his waist. His eyes are closed, but he's clearly still awake. What draws my attention-aside from his exposed chest-is the hand that's under that sheet. The movement at his crotch.

I hold my breath, desperate to stay quiet so he doesn't stop. My heart starts pounding, probably to accommodate all the extra blood rushing to my dick. I can feel it getting harder, pushing against the front of my jeans, and I fleetingly imagine Edward stroking my cock like he's stroking his own.

He moves his free hand under the sheet too, and groans a little as he changes his technique. I can't see exactly what he's doing, but it looks like he's playing with his balls too. Fuck, that's hot. I turn my body slightly so I'm pressed against the door jamb; thrusting my hips against it relieves some of the ache in my dick. My cheek is leaning against the cool wood, and I take slow, shallow breaths as I watch Edward pleasure himself.

He curses a little under his breath and shifts on the bed, switching hands. My eyes are locked on the movement under his sheet, and I want more than anything for that sheet to be gone. I let my eyes flicker up to his abs, his chest, his tight, pale nipples. I want to lick them, bite them. I want to bite his collarbones, nip at his throat, suck hard until his skin is bruised. Oh, and his fucking Adam's apple... I want to lick that too, and nuzzle it with my nose, and scrape my teeth over it. When I finally let myself look back up at his face, my body jerks back from the doorway in shock.

His eyes are open, and staring right into mine.

Ahh, but what happens next? Is Edward just an exhibitionist? Is he teasing Jacob? Is he...?

To find out, you’ll have to read the story. It’s complete, so you don’t have to wait anxiously to find out whether things get awkward between the two.

Go on. Give it a chance. 

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There you have it, folks. Two wonderful stories to sink your teeth into. Be sure to leave the authors some love (and don't forget to give some to Conversed and Captain Jezebel, too!). Check back next week when Aradi and Conversed have some new goodies to share with you. 

In the mean time, why not write a little somethin' somethin' for The Real Love Contest. Show us some honest to goodness, real life lemony stuff: giggle fits, mishaps, bumbling moves and all.