Why hello. Coolbreeeze here. As some of you may know if you follow me on twitter or tumblr, my Twilight love has waned. *gasp/shock/awe* My life has mostly been consumed by a man, who you may know, Daniel Radcliffe. He was in a small movie franchise called Harry Potter. No biggie. I doubt you’ve heard of it. Anyway, when Naelany asked me to give some recommendations for this blog I thought, um. Shit. What have I read that was Twilight related? A few moments later after I set down the DanRad pictures, I remembered, two fantastic stories from the Twilight world and one from the Harry Potter HP/DM world because I can’t resist. So, without further ado, here you go:
Ready For You
Pairing: E/J
Summary: They meet far from home in a land of sunshine and beauty. Will this short time together be enough when they return to their homes and their lives? (complete)
Rated: M
First up, Ready For You by the wonderful bmango This story was written for another fabulous author, theladyingrey42 , for her birthday because bmango and theladyingrey42 are besties like that. Well, little did bmango know that I’d fangirl over this story like it was written specifically for me.
This story revolves around Edward and Jasper who meet in Hobart, Tasmania. Edward, from London, is on a six week vacation before his hospital internship starts (yup, he’s a doctor) and Jasper, from Texas is on a vacation of sorts himself. Jasper puts up a note in the hostel asking if anyone wants to ride share on a backpacking adventure and Edward decides to take him up on the offer. Edward is immediately attracted to Jasper when he sees who he’ll be sharing a ride with:
“I notice a guitar case in the back seat and can't wait to question him about it. Actually, perhaps it's better if I didn't. If he actually plays and sings, I couldn't be held responsible for any reactions I may have.” And that’s about the same reaction I had when reading that line.
As they get to know each other, the reader begins to understand that Edward has feelings for Jasper, but through a series of slight misunderstandings, he doesn’t think Jasper could ever like him that way. The reader also begins to realize that Jasper may be on this trip to run away from something back home and he may not be able to be with Edward.
“Today was bliss and torture: wrestling, laughing, just being together sending chills through my body.
And my scars? My past? He looked at me like he was proud of me, not with pity.
Peter's my rock. But maybe I don't need anchoring anymore. I want sun and light and easy.
I want Edward.”
What I love the most about this story is that it’s written in a very unique style. It’s told from both Edward and Jasper’s points of view, but the JPOV chapters are drabbles and the EPOV chapters are 1,000 plus words in the beginning. It’s not until Chapter 11, that you get to hear Jasper’s voice in more than 100 words.
Because bmango wrote this story in full before she started posting, it updated consistently which helped ease the pain of the uncertainty of a relationship between these two. I didn’t have to wait long to get my answer on will they or won’t they or will one of them regret it later. There is so much character depth from these two you feel like you’re truly standing in Australia with them, watching their feelings unfold. Another great thing about this story is it’s realistic. Problems aren’t swept under the rug and not everything has a happy little bow when it shouldn’t.
“Edward has still not contacted me. And I fear it's all my fault. The guilt of leaving him with a small scrap of paper and my meager words is eating at me every minute since I walked away from him. We should have talked. We should have had more time together. I should have kissed him goodbye. I probably wouldn't email me either with all that was left unsaid and undone.”
As this story starts its conclusion, as a reader, you are so invested in these two, you’ll be cheering by the end when things start to make their way out of angst-ridden-omg-what-are-you-doing-to-my-sappy-heart-ville.
Bmango was generous enough to write a futuretake of these two for Fandom Against Domestic Violence which is the last chapter of this story. Keeping with the beginning of the story, it begins with a drabble from JPOV with a full length section from EPOV. It’s a great addition to an already wonderful story and you need to go read. Yes. Now. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
Red Paper Heart
Pairing: E/J
Summary: Lonely teachers shopping for Valentine's Day art supplies. One package of red construction paper. They both reach for it. Fingers touch. Sparks fly? (complete - but if she were to add more to this no one would be mad. No one.)
Rated:: M
My next recc is Red Paper Heart by the lovely CherBella . This one shot was originally written for the Twi No Stress Love Fest hosted by naelany and ontheturningaway around Valentine’s Day. What was great about this fest was all entries were anonymous so you couldn’t appropriately fangirl the author until the reveals post in March.
So, Cherbella, prepare for my fangirling now.
Red Paper Heart is the story of Edward, an elementary school teacher and Valentine’s Day cynic.
“As my eyes slid down the calendar to the big red "14," I could feel my face muscles twitching into a grimace.
Valentine's Day. Some pooh-poohed it as a day manufactured by the greeting card and candy companies to sell more products and I certainly wouldn't disagree. No matter, it didn't stop millions of people—or perhaps I should say, millions of couples—in the world from celebrating it. All of those couples professing their love for each other with food and flowers and balloons and stuffed animals and sexy underwear.
I sighed loudly. I hated Valentine's Day. Not once in my twenty-six years had I ever had a happy one.”
I could related to Edward’s sentiment on Valentine’s Day and I immediately knew I’d love this story. Anyway, enough about my forever alone status. Because Edward is a teacher, he is forced to celebrate Valentine’s day with his class. This also means, he has to make sure he gets to the supply closet first where all the construction paper is held to ensure that his kids get enough red and pink paper to make valentines before the other teachers can take it all. This is where we meet Jasper. He and Edward make a move for the good paper at the same time. The reader finds out Jasper is a new teacher at the school and though Edward is immediately attracted to him, he doesn’t think there is anyway Jasper could like him.
As the week goes by, Edward and Jasper have more run ins at the school and begin to get to know each other. Edward, tries his best not to think of Jasper in “that way” but it’s a losing battle.
“Strong fingers . . . stroking up and down my cock, swirling over the wetness at the swollen head…then down again, gripping, pulling. I groaned loudly, "Please, baby . . . please." Then I felt his soft lips surrounding me, pulling me into their wet, velvet-hot warmth, sucking me in hard until I felt the back of his throat. My hips began bucking uncontrollably. "More, oh God, more, harder . . . oh Fuck!" As I felt everything I had exploding out of me, I looked down to see blond curls and blue eyes looking back up at me . . .
My whole body jerked awake, sweaty, my heart pounding. I felt a warm, stickiness and looked down to find my own hand in my boxers, around my cum-covered dick. I'd been jerking myself off in my sleep, no wonder the dream had felt so real, so vivid.
Damn. So much for not thinking about him.”
*fans self*
Finally, Valentine’s day is upon us and Edward receives his very own Valentine from a certain blond teacher. I won’t get into the details of what happens once Edwards gets his Valentine but what I will say, is if Cherbella doesn’t give us another chapter with these two I may be forced to tweet her everyday until she does. I have nothing but time lady....
Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Summay: Tired of only being the Boy Who Lived, Harry disappears after the war, leaving only a mysterious letter behind. Five years later, Draco and his unlikely friends go on holiday and find magic where there is none and more on a mountain in Africa. EWE. (complete with a sequel pending)
Rated: M
If you thought I could do a recc without including some HP/DM then you just don’t know me at all. *ahem* My final recc is by one of my favorite fandom people, bsmog. This story is all sorts of brilliant and I’m not just saying that because I was one of her pre-readers. It starts with Hermione finding a note that Harry leaves after he disappears to Merlin knows where. She takes it to Draco to see if he can help her make sense of it...Yeah, I know, why does Hermione take it to Draco of all people? You’ll find out later.
Fast forward five years later where Harry is still missing, and Draco, Hermione and Ron (oh yes, they’re all friends...trust me, it makes sense when you read it and you’ll LOVE IT) decide to take a trip to Moshi, Tanzania to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro the “muggle way” aka sans magic. They’re in for the surprise of their lives when they meet their tour guide and owner of the climbing company, Wanderlust Expeditions.
Yup, you guessed it. Harry Potter. (awwwwwwwww shit just got real!)
And Draco is not thrilled.
“A second wave of something else that Draco thinks might be hurt breaks over the shock as he realises that Potter does not look surprised to see them. Potter knew they would be coming? Of course he did, Draco thinks, he's the boss after all. He would have seen the names on the reservations.
The reservations they made months ago.
The unbelievable bastard!”
Once the initial shock wears off, the new golden trio agree to climb this mountain with Harry as their guide. Draco and Harry realize they both have trouble sleeping and during the night, they get to know each other more. Harry finds out why Draco is with his former best friends and Draco finds out why Harry has made his life in Africa. Harry finds comfort in Draco and is able to open up to him more about the last 5 years of his life, more so than he can with Ron and Hermione at this point because when he left, he hurt them more than he could have ever hurt Draco and those wounds need more time to heal.
What I love about this story is the understated sexiness and sappiness that flows from beginning to end. At one point, everyone feels a tad grimy, and Harry tells them they can use the water from the glacier that they are near to wash up. Harry, the sly fox, uses this as an opportunity to wash Draco’s hair in an undeniably erotic moment between the two:
“The stream of frigid water stops flowing and Draco's scalp tingles, but the sensation from the bitter chill of the air mixing with his cold, wet hair is obliterated in a flash when he feels Harry's fingers slide over his head and begin to knead at his scalp. Harry's nails graze his skin as he lathers Draco's hair and his hands are so strong and sure and Draco groans a little before he can help himself.”
I’ve never wanted my hair washed on a mountain more in my life.
The mountain itself is a major character of this story as well. It does not only do magical things to the people climbing it, but to the reader as well.
“The moon is rising over what Draco knows is the Tanzanian savanna, but the point is that he's sitting on the highest point on a continent watching a full moon rise up over the plains, lighting up everything in sight nearly as brightly as day. It casts a brilliant blueish-white glow that seems to emphasize the vast openness he's looking at, making it all look so much bigger and him feel so much smaller than he ever has before.”
"This is why I'm here," Harry goes on, his voice gathering passion. "Where in London can I find magic this pure? Where in that world can I feel so small and unimportant? Nothing out there," he gestures vaguely at the plains, "or up here cares that I'm Harry Potter or that I fought Voldemort. Where else does that exist for me?"
As the story progresses, relationships are mended. Both Ron and Hermione fix their friendship with Harry in their own personal ways. Draco and Harry find solace in one another, under a magic only the mountain can bring.
It’s hard for me not to dump 150 quotes into this short recommendation, but I also don’t want to spoil the experience for you. But here is one more.
"I can't leave, Draco," he says, voice low and shaky, his eyes never leaving the horizon as he stares at his mountain.
"I know," Draco says, also pinning his eyes back to the hulking mountain that drew Harry here and holds him in its grasp. Because he does know. He's known all along, he just hasn't wanted to admit it. "I can't stay, Harry."
If Harry's voice was low before, Draco nearly has to strain to hear him now.
"I know."
Now. Don’t you want to read the whole thing and find out exactly what happens? Does Draco leave Harry in Africa with his mountain. Does Harry decide to come back to London? You’ll just have to click on the link above and find out! Yup, I’m evil like that.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some DanRad tumblr posts to make. ;)
xoxo,
Coolbreeeze
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