Guest Rec - evilgiraffe82

When naelany asked if I'd be interested in writing a rec for TU, I was immediately enthusiastic, and
volunteered myself without really thinking about it. It was only a few days later when I realised
that I'd not read much Twific at all recently, and had to embark on a hunt for good stories. I think
the one I chose deserves to be pointed out to a wider audience, and I hope you enjoy it! The reason
I've not been reading much Twific lately is because I've become what a friend recently described
as “a total slashwhore!”. As an nod to this aspect of my character, I've snuck in a couple of non-
Twi slashfics, in the hope of corrupting some more people... These three stories are all well-written
and highly enjoyable, and are on something of a sliding scale from angst to fluff. Thank you so
much to TU for letting me flag them up for other people to read! To begin with, the most angsty of
the three:

Slash/Backslash 3.0 Reviews - Part Two

Here are the rest of the reviews from the Host's Choice awards from Slash/Backslash 3.0. Check out what they have to say.

Slash Guest Author Rec - Vampireisthenewblack

Hey! Well, I’m rather excited to be here, that’s no lie. I was a little nervous at first, I mean, what am I reading that hasn’t already been rec’d all over the place already? And, then there is the fact that I don’t do half the reading that some of us do. And I’ve got some specific (funny?) tastes, certain things that really float my boat which I let inform my reading choices a lot. There are few things that I leap on as soon as they appear in my inbox, but here's my highlights.

~v~

If you know me at all, you know that I have a big old girl-boner for canon Edward/Carlisle. Yes, that's right, I said canon. Because, come on, three years, just the two of them, all alone in the world? You really think they never... Well, I do :D It's the reason I first started looking for twific. Le Sigh. I never found it. Well, close to a year later, and it's appeared, and god, am I happy about it :D

Aberration by shoefreak37 is spanking new (figure of speech, no actual spanking in this fic), only three chapters so far, but I've read Shoe's stuff before (understatement, I'm big on fangirling over her Tracking Redemption), and I know that this is my dream come true.

The guests are arriving, the decorations hung; the tables are set. The overpowering scent of freesia fills Edward's already addled head, and he stares at himself in the mirror, trying to decipher where he belongs in the bedlam that is his wedding day – his and Bella's wedding day.

Yep, it is so firmly in canon that this is how it begins. Or ends. In the prologue, Edward is about to marry Bella, and yet it is apparent that he has some...issues.

"Turn it on," Edward requests, giving Jasper a quick upturn of his lips. Jasper has made a promise not to manipulate any emotions today, but Edward has realized he will need his brother's gift if he is to make it through with any semblance of normality.

"Sure," Jasper replies. "What flavor? You want...confidence?" Edward feels himself bolstered within seconds, but shakes his head. "Calm?" The feelings radiating off his brother change, and Edward feels lethargic. He shakes his head again. "Love?" Love would make sense. Love should be what Edward wants to feel on his wedding day, but he grows uneasy as the emotion intensifies, radiating and undulating from Jasper. Edward shakes his head another time. Jasper furrows his brow, confused.

"Can you make me content?" Edward asks, sliding his arms into his jacket.

After the prologue, we go back in time to Carlisle in Chicago, 1918, and we all know what happens then. I've read a few 'Carlisle changes Edward' fics, but nothing like this before. Shoe takes canon and and while remaining faithful to it, does things that we would never see in the source material. She writes in character, too, which I think is why I love her vampslash so much. So often slash is OOC merely for the reason that it isn't strictly canon. She remains as close as possible to the prescribed history of the Twilight Saga that we know, wonders whether twivamp hair can be cut or not, (among other more entertaining ponderings) and it makes me happy because I get a more realistic experience, a more believable story.

Something I wish I could get printed and shove on my bookshelf right alongside the rest of the stuff on my 'shrine to Twilight'. I'm a sad little monkey ;) Shoe's making my sad little slashy vampire dreams come true, and I'll be hanging out for each and every update.

~v~

I keep saying that I don’t ‘do’ femmeslash. Well, as I write this, it is the second time in just a few weeks that I have publicly proved myself wrong.

Hale no, Hale yes by tjbaby isn’t your typical femmeslash though. The main pairing is Alice and Rosalie, of course, but there are also traditional m/m slash elements, along with just a little bit of het. It's just a really entertaining story, narrated by my favourite Alice ever, and peppered liberally with pop culture references that make this geek squee and bounce with...well, geeker joy.

My eyes watered furiously, blurring my vision as I flailed around trying to find the tissues. Dabbing at my eyes, I peered into the mirror. Oh hell, one red eye. I'm going Terminator to my date. I glared at the eyeliner lying innocently on my dresser.

"I see you. Don't think you can come off all innocent on me, eyeballer." Cautiously I poked it with my finger, watching it suspiciously as it rolled over. Holding it up, I examined it carefully. "I'm warning you now, mister, I can break you in half with these teeny tiny little hands so don't you go getting all Mr. Pointy on me. I'm no vampire. Got it?"

Beneath the funny, it's a story about discovering possibilities and thinking outside the sphere of what you thought you knew about yourself.

Alice is excited, because Jasper Hale, the blond hottie she's been playing hard to get with for a while, has asked her out on a date. But when Alice gets there, to find two other people at their table that she did not expect, she almost completely forgets about Jasper, instead being unable to take her eyes from his beautiful sister, Rosalie.

Alice gets drunk, makes a right dick of herself (this is one of my favourite aspects of this fic, her propensity for foot-in-mouth-disease that makes her very relatable. Well, at least to me), and ends up getting snogged in the car park (parking lot, right? I figure I can get away with a kiwism in a rec) by a blonde goddess.

I jumped as Jasper touched my arm, brushing it with his as he reached for the salad dressing. He looked at me, a silent question in those eyes and fleetingly I wondered how it was I thought they were beautiful. They paled in comparison to Rosalie's.

Oh God.

The abrupt scraping of my chair drew all eyes towards me. "I'm sorry...um, I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve," I stammered as I stood up.

Shit. I just quoted Bilbo's speech. They are going to think I'm the worst type of Hobbit ever.

And then there is Jasper. While we are hearing the tale from Alice's point of view, it's still easy to see that he is going through some of the very same things she is in coming to terms with his sexuality not being quite what he thought it was. And watching Edward and Jasper through Alice's eyes seems very normal for a m/m slash lover of the female persuasion...

Holy fuck! I took a deep breath as spots appeared before my eyes. "Breathe, Alice, breathe," I told myself as I avidly watched these two gorgeous men before me. A million questions ran through my head as I stared at the sight before me. Was Jasper gay? Bi? Het? Surprised?

And the way Alice and Jasper both react to their confusion throws a definite het aspect into the mix.

Hefting my bag onto my shoulder, I grabbed the pile of papers I left on the table. "Yeah well, the last blonde I had objected to my tongue in her mouth last night. And before you say she'll get over it, I led the way to hell with "You don't kiss like your brother and you don't have a peen." So yeah, fucked if I'm going to get any, any time soon. The males just stick their cocks in you and scream some guy's name as they pound the fuck out of you, and the girl ones, well they just scream at you. And not in the throes of passion either."

Fun times! I could go on for hours, because almost every paragraph in this fic has something quotable, but I'll stop there, only suggesting that you go read it yourself ;)

~v~

And quickly, before they start playing that music that tells me to STFU and get off the goddamn stage, I must mention Betrayal by stitchcat. This is an Alistair (remember the British vampire dude who hid out upstairs in Breaking Dawn and then buggered off before the Volturi arrived?) fic, and I'd never read an Alistair fic before, but I had to read it, because not only is it just a little bit slashy, but it also 'solves' one of the most sinister and compelling mysteries in modern history. A lovely dark vampfic that is faithful to canon and historic fact.

In the autumn of 1888 I was living in London. I realized that this was the perfect place to conduct my experiments. The poverty and constantly fluctuating population assured me that the whores would not be missed, and that murder was so common the likelihood of discovery was small. I was wrong.

Squeeeee! Oops, there goes that geeker joy again. My obsessions are many and varied ;)

Thank you, Naelany, for asking me to do this, it was a lot of fun, and I do like talking about the stuff I like to read :D

Tuesday's Best 7-20-2010

Good morning, my lovelies. I hope you're ready for another week of two fantabulous reads, because Aradi and Captain Jezebel are ready to rock 'n roll with you. Towels at the ready? Then let's go!

~*~*~*~*~*~

Aradi presents:

Jasper and Edward have somehow ended up as the canon couple of Slash.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining.  They're my two favorite characters in canon and my two favorite characters in twific (even if I don't read very many Jasper/Alice fics).  I'd be silly not to enjoy them together.  However, while much Slash seems to focus on Jasper and Edward, there are excellent fics of other pairings if you go digging.  My neverending fic-diving led me to...

Tracking Redemption by shoefreak37

I did a double-take when I saw this fic labeled as "Edward & Demetri."  Demetri?  Really?  Oookay.  And me being me, I started reading.

The story picks up as a New Moon AU.  Alice has visions of Bella's death and absent future, so Edward runs off to Italy to Volterra-cide himself.  He's quickly picked up by the Volturi guard, but luckily for us (and Demetri), Aro decides that another mind-reader is far too valuable to waste.  A little bit of extortion later, Edward is the newest member of the guard.

The plot spins from there with the developing relationship between Edward and Demetri, the unfortunate reality of Edward's new job, and the obvious issue of Edward's ubiquitous self-loathing.  Edward also has to deal with the possibility that after a hundred years of asexuality, his chaste romance with Bella was a doomed step in the wrong (team's) direction.

"I-I don't think I can. After Bella, I just really shouldn't….I've never even thought of a man in that way," Edward blubbered out, shuffling his feet uncomfortably.

You're lying, Demetri thought. "You can't pretend that your body has never reacted when I am near you. You cannot hide the confusion evident on your face when you wonder why you feel this way," Demetri growled out heatedly, rising to his feet and approaching Edward.

Edward finally found it in himself to look at Demetri 's face, expecting to see it twisted in frustration. Instead, his gaze was met with a tender, empathetic expression. Demetri's eyes shone with feeling, the golden facets winning the battle against the red. He cautiously brought the hands that had so thoroughly pleased yet tormented Edward to the younger man's cheeks, one remaining stationary as the other one reverently traced the lines of his jaw, before settling on the side of his neck. Edward leaned into Demetri's touch, his eyes closing in the overpowering rightness of the smooth skin against his. Demetri used the new leverage to bring Edward within inches of his welcoming lips.

"I know you're confused, E. Let me help you understand," Demetri breathed, the soft whisper of his utterance tickling Edward's trembling lips. Edward parted them slightly, inviting in the exquisitely scented air as it graced his curious tongue, tasting Demetri there. His prior convictions to quell his desires for Demetri were dissolved by the warm, soothing palms on his face, and the only thought in his mind was more.

Yes!  More please! 

The background characters are a bonus in this story, as the Volturi more than make up for the absence of the usual Cullens.  Heidi is a good friend to both boys.  Felix is crass comedic relief.  Jane is her usual sociopathic self, while Aro is wonderfully manipulative.  When Edward finally thinks of his family again, I realized I hadn't missed them at all.

Having Demetri in the pairing is a bit like having an "Other Character."  I mean, how much do we really know of Demetri from canon?  Not much.  But this Demetri is an interesting character in his own right, and fits what little we do know.  He's charming and worldly, and fortunately for us has plenty of experience that he really, really wants to share with Edward.  

Tracking Redemption is no fluff piece.  There's drama and angst (after all, this is Edward), but with plenty of "more" to soothe away the misery.  Best of all, this is a completed fic (with a couple of outtakes).  No need to whine until the next update like I once did.

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Hello my lovely slash paramours. Captain Jezebel here, and I am happy to be back this week with a new rec for you. Today’s story is a fic that had made it onto my radar a few weeks back, but because it is a multi chapter I needed to set the time aside to read it. So I decided to save it for a week when I could devote said time. Whatta ya know ? Due to the fact that the wonderful Aradi has joined our staff, I had a week off to read making this the perfect time to direct your attention to Til Summer Comes Around by mrsyt31 .

The Keith Urban song with the same name as the title sets the stage for us in the prologue. The story of love found during the lazy months of summer. A love that ran almost as hot as the burning sun. A kiss, the boardwalk, the Ferris wheel, the Fourth of July, a whirlwind romance that slips away too soon, and the long years of waiting that follow. What would you do if the warmest months of the year brought you both happiness and pain? How would you handle the joy of the memories you hold on to only to have the pain of losing your love seep in and take hold of your heart? This is where we find Edward in present time. 

 

It's been two and a half years since he left, and it wasn't long after that when he cut off contact with me altogether. And yet, here I am in Boston, still waiting for him to come back. The beginning of the summer always brings back the pain of his loss. My friends and family have all tried to convince me to move on, and I understand their concern. I've never been someone who stayed alone for very long.

But ever since Jasper, I feel stuck. Our relationship was different than others I had before him; I loved him. I still love him, and so I find myself once again visiting the places we went to during the early part of that summer. It's a ritual of sorts that I have repeated each year, hoping to maybe find some closure, but it never comes.

I loved the way this story is crafted because the author takes us back after the prologue. She gives us a chance to follow along with Edward and Jasper as they fall in love. We get to understand why after only a few months together, two men feel so strongly about each other that even when it seems like they have parted forever, they can not move on. They remain haunted by the perfect summer love. The POV changes between Jasper and Edward for each chapter, so we get the best of both worlds when trying to decipher what these boys are feeling and how fast they are falling.

EPOV:

Sleep did not come easily. Jasper's scent still lingered on my skin, his taste still on my tongue. And it was with thoughts of him writhing beneath me that I finally gave in and stroked myself into oblivion, cumming harder than I ever had before.

His effect on me was like nothing I had ever felt. I had only known him for a matter of hours, and yet, he occupied every corner of my mind. Every touch of his hand had sent shock waves through my body. It was similar to the way the air turns static right before a thunderstorm; when he was near to me, it was as if the air shifted somehow, and I would have known that he was close even if I couldn't see him.

I wanted him badly; I wanted to fuck him senseless and then have him return the favor, but it was more than that. I felt connected to him somehow, more than I had ever felt connected to anyone, and I didn't really even know him. I sighed in frustration as I finally rolled over and allowed my exhaustion to pull me under. Hopefully the morning would bring some clarity.

JPOV:

Wrapping his arms back around my waist, he pulled me close. My fingers found their way to the hair on the back of his head, and I sighed as he kissed me slowly, showing me with his mouth all of the things he couldn't yet say. We both knew on some level that whatever was happening between us would change us both forever; we were inexplicably tied together now. I had never experienced anything of this intensity before, and it was exhilarating, if not a little frightening.

"What's wrong, Jasper?" he whispered against my lips. "You seem tense; not at all like the outgoing, confident guy I met Friday night. Tell me?" he implored.

"I'm afraid that once you leave here that this will all disappear." His expression softened when I confessed my insecurity. "This is so unlike me, I'm sorry. It's just that..." I couldn't finish. I wasn't even sure what I was trying to say.

"Jasper..." he pleaded for me to continue.

"I've known you for two days, Edward. And this?" I said, pointing between the two of us, "This is more intense than anything I have ever felt in my life. I want you, Edward, for more than just this weekend. I've never really wanted anyone, but the thought of losing this scares the shit out of me."

*swoon* Oh those boys are falling hard real fast, and I am stumbling along with them, and I know you will be as well. The fic is still a WiP that is leading up to the point of their separation right now, so there will be heart fail soon, but since mrsyt31 set us up to know this from the prologue, it shouldn’t be that hard to deal with...right?? *looks around nervously* Well if it gets too bad meet me back here, and I’ll pass around the Kleenex while we drown our sorrows in ice cream....deal? Hope to see ya guys just as caught up in the sweet, summer lovin.  ;)

P.S. I would just like to say thank you to my amazing friends Naelany and SorceressCirce for being so sweet, and writing two amazing little slashtastic drabble fics for my birthday. (If you haven’t checked those out yet you should peeps, they’re awesome, links in the last Tuesday’s Best post.) Once again ladies you made my day, and they were just what I needed. Love you guys. Also thank you to everyone in the fandom that gave me birthday wishes on twitter, gmail, and reviews I appreciate every single one, and had a big smile on my face all day.

~*~*~*~*~*~

There you have it, folks, two more lovely stories to sink your teeth into. 

Don't forget, there are still contests going on that I just know you could give a slashy swing to. One's easy, since it's the Slash/Backslash 2.0. There's already some amazing reads there, but I just know you can come up with some fuckhot stories, too. Come on...you know you want to!

 

And the other is the Plot Bunny Contest. Submit (hehe) plot bunnies, or apply to get some. Either way, you can still join in on the fun. Contest closes on July 31st!

When Fiction Comes To Life

Don’t Ask Don’t Tell

Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) is a well known phrase these days and very popular in the news lately. It was a military policy implemented in 1993 under President Clinton. While nearly 80% of all Americans today are in favor of repealing DADT, it was actually seen as a major breakthrough in gay rights when it was first introduced. It was a bipartisan compromise that ended the outright ban of gays, lesbians, and bisexuals from the military. The compromise stated that the military would not ask, and the service people would not tell what their sexual orientation was.

Little did anyone know at the time that it would cost taxpayers over 400 million dollars. It also resulted in nearly 14,000 dismissals of which approximately 1000 were considered mission critical, thus jeopardizing military readiness. This does not include the numbers that did not re-enlist because the fear of being found out was just too great. Even those that did not ‘tell’ lived in constant fear, because it was quite common for someone in an act of vengeance or other harassment to report on someone else’s sexual orientation.

While we implemented DADT, most of our allies in other countries outright removed all military discrimination based on sexual orientation. And everything has gone very well for them. In fact, our allies also recently announced that they will no longer fight alongside US troops unless we end our discrimination. They cite concern for their soldiers from US homophobia. Our allies make some interesting points in the following article: http://www.truthwinsout.org/blog/2010/05/8992

Some question why it makes any difference and wonder why people cannot simply remain silent. However, the truth is that soldiers are being asked to constantly lie about a major part of their life. While many soldiers openly discuss significant others and have pictures of their personal lives, the gay and lesbian soldiers are forbidden to do so. It is a constant every day concern for them.

DADT has had an impact on several of our favorite slash characters. Jasper felt he must break it off with Edward to join the military in “It’s Fate" by OCDJen. Edward is currently in counseling after having had to hold it all in and lie every day for eight years about who he was in “Southern Charm” by Meikela. One of the most difficult of all stories involving DADT which permeated the story was “Chromaticity” by shoefreak37. My favorite quote from that story is “Edward would glare at the faded, ubiquitous 'support our troops' magnets that were on every other vehicle he saw. Support our troops, but only if they're straight, he would think bitterly”

Here is a real life plea from the boyfriend of a soldier. He made and posted several videos. The saddest of which he made is called “Boyfriend left for military” where he is in tears. He almost looks like Edward in that one. In this one he explains the impact on DADT on real people and he makes several good points:

Read more real stories here:
http://www.wegiveadamn.org/category/military
http://www.sldn.org/blog/c/letters

It may seem like a small thing to some, and others may wonder what the big deal is if they are not interested in the military. However, historically how we treat our soldiers does tend to impact other elements of society. Remember when the voting age was dropped from 21 to 18? The strongest argument was that if they are old enough to die for their country, they are old enough to vote. We can only hope that once DADT is repealed, we will see more positive changes to our society.

The House of Representatives approved a measure that would add the repeal of DADT to the Defense Authorization Bill. As a compromise, it will only go into effect when signed off by the Defense Secretary, Joint Chiefs Chairman, and the President. It is unclear whether or not actual nondiscrimination language will be added to the military code and if any consideration will be made for a soldier’s partner. Republicans in the Senate have threatened to filibuster the bill. (Now would be a good time to contact your senator.)

If you are aware of any other Twilight slash stories featuring DADT, please let us know in the comments.