Tuesday's Best 7-24-2012

Good morning, my lovelies. I hope you're all enjoying your summer so far. I just wanted to say a quick thank you to Conversed for helping out last week. I had a family emergency on Tuesday (hence the lack of posting) and she offered to put the post up the following day. I'm back now, however, ready to share with you what Connie and I have found. So let's get to it, shall we? Do read all the way through, as I have something to address later on.

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The Summer It All Began Contest has come to an end with some great entries. The Winner by judge´s choice was Worthwhile by dragontattoo75

Is a sweet, short coming out story. As part of their summer break Riley, Jasper´s best friend, invited their group to a weekend at his parents’ lake cabin.

As Jasper gets ready to join the group, he finds out that Riley´s older brother and his friends are joining in the fun too.

His heart started beating faster and his hands felt sweaty when he saw someone familiar turning the car out onto the highway. A short-sleeved shirt covered strong arms, their hands holding a tight grip on the wheel with knuckles covered in scars from a window smashed in anger with his bare fist years back.

His hair was shorter now, neatly trimmed at the sides where it used to be unruly over the ears, but the strong jaw and green eyes meeting Jasper's in the mirror were the same. "Hey, kid." The person, now a man, nodded at him once when he noticed Jasper staring at him.

Jasper swallowed back the embarrassment flaring up in his chest at still being called a kid by him. He was going to college in the fall, damn it; his days of being a kid were long gone.

Once settled in the cabin, Jasper gets to spend more time with Edward. Getting to know the older brother again and bonding over their sexuality. As Jasper is still in the closet Edward offers advice and comfort.

"I know it's not easy coming out in small towns like ours, believe me. Even though I knew my parents were open-minded and would support me, I just couldn't do it while I lived there. When are you going to tell your mother, at least?"

Even though he'd thought about coming out for years, now, when the time to finally tell someone had arrived, Jasper had a hard time finding the right words.

Leaning close to Jasper's ear, Edward whispered, "Come on Jasper. What do you have to lose by telling me? I'll back you up when you want to tell the rest of the world, I promise."

But comfort is not the only thing Edward has to offer and things get steamy ;)

I really love this O/S dragontattoo75 gets to capture Jasper´s insecurities and fears as well as the UST between Jasper and his best friend's brother.

Relax and enjoy a sexy short story and leave some love for the author while you are at it. Maybe, if we ask nicely, we can get her to write chapter two and get more from the boys.

Have a great week.

Connie

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Since Slash/Backslash has recently launched their fourth edition, I figured I’d snoop around some of the old entries for a gem to share with you. I found Afternoon of a Faun by Elvelethril-'Elvey, who won Judge’s Pick for Best Wank in the first edition of S/BS.

Edward’s got a bit of a crush. Okay, he’s got a major crush. On Jasper. Stammer, mind blank, non-functioning whenever Jasper as much as looks at him, let alone when he speaks to him. You know the drill.

The boys only share one class - History - and Edward sits behind Jasper, affording him a wonderful view of his favorite boy. The only downside is that he can’t see his eyes, but considering how Edward fumbles whenever he does have Jasper’s attention, this is probably for the better.

When Jasper forgets his scarf one day after class, Edward tries to think of it as a good thing. He now has a purpose in speaking to Jasper, and it’s always a good thing when you return something that’s lost, right?

Right.

Only when Edward follows after Jasper... well, you can see for yourself.

Casually I rose, a little hesitant and feeling almost guilty before I'd even touched it. Almost of their own volition, my fingers closed around the fabric. For a second I just stood there and then I realized that I had to find Jasper and return it immediately. Hell, maybe I'd even be able to form a coherent sentence now that I had a purpose. It was worth a shot. Quickly I grabbed the rest of my stuff and left the classroom. As I entered the hallway I saw him at the opposite end just as he disappeared out the entrance door. Holding the scarf in one hand I picked up the pace and wove my way around people not moving fast enough.

Squinting against the sun outside my eyes took several seconds seeking him out. He was making his way across the parking lot. I had almost picked up the courage to call out his name when out of nowhere a tiny dark-haired girl came bouncing towards him, practically jumping into his welcoming arms. I stopped dead in my tracks.

I watched as they made their way to his car, chatting animatedly. Feeling as if I'd been glued to the ground I just stood there until they drove off.

"Jasper, you forgot your scarf," I whispered into the frosty air, my breath ghosting out in front of me as it left my mouth.

Aww, poor Edward. Makes you just want to hug him, right? Well, a little later, you might want to do something else to him... and then hug him some more. Why? You’ll have to read for yourself. I promise it’ll be good. After all, she did win Judge’s Pick for Best Wank, remember?

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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 MizzDee and I have in store for you then.

Don't forget about Slash/Backslash 4.0, which kicked off last week. There's plenty of time to come up with something awesome, as they won't accept entries until August 1st, so put your planning caps on and start outlining. I just know the next great story is waiting, and it's waiting for you to write it. Or create it, as the case may be, as they've decided to accept art, too.

And last, but not least, I have a request to make. As I mentioned above, I had a family emergency last week and it drove home just how burned out I'm getting. Something is going to have to give, and I'm afraid that something's going to have to be the blog. I do not want to quit, but I will have to. I do not want to see TwiSlash Unveiled die out. I love this blog and all of you, and I've put a lot of work into it. It runs itself for the most part, but I can no longer keep doing it. And so I turn to you. I need help. Is there someone among you readers who might be able to take over from me? If you do, please leave a comment on here. I don't get the email for this blog, so please don't send anything there. Whitlock's Girl knows I need to step back, but isn't in a position herself to step back in.

For the time being, the blog will continue as always, so don't worry about me closing up shop right away. I want to give people the chance to keep the blog running. Another option to entice people to step up might be to expand the blog to go beyond Twilight and encompass slash in other fandoms, as so many of our authors and readers have either switched to other fandoms, like Harry Potter, Avengers, Sherlock Holmes, Stargate, etc. I made (or attempted to, at least. Hopefully it worked) a poll, so please add your voice.