As many of you are aware, this past fall, we held the first Season of Our Discontent Anonymous Angst Contest.

The concept was simple. There were 10 picture prompts, and the only direction was to write “angst” relating to one of those prompts. Any character, any pairing, any ending (as long as it was logical), any rating. The only absolute requirement was anonymity.

Our fantastic judges panel consisted of: coldplaywhore, Feisty Y. Beden, katinki, lola-pops, Rochelle Allison, and TalulaBlue.

22blue took care of all of our secrets, interfaced with all the entrants, and organized all the entries.

And the lovely Raggdoll of Twilight made all of our amazing winners’ banners.

We’re so happy and proud to say that the success of this contest went past our wildest dreams. We had a total of 59 entries, and the variety was incredible. Awards consisted of: 1st and 2nd place Judges’, 1st and 2nd place Popular. And Special awards were: Best Tragedy, Most Deserved HEA, Tissue Award, Best AU, and Best Secondary-Centric.

To congratulate and thank our 1st place winners in particular, we wanted to take a moment to publicly highlight some things we loved about their entries.

We hope that you enjoyed the contest and read all the entries. And we hope that if you haven’t already read, you’ll do so now!

Thanks for all your support and love ♥

22blue and katinki

1st Place Judges’ Vote:

Author: Tkegl
Pairing: ExJ
Summary: It’s 1963. Jasper Whitlock is a smart boy with a bright future – college, marriage & taking over the family business. When Edward Cullen comes to town, he shakes Jasper’s world to the core. Sometimes, it’s the unexpected that makes life worth living.

There are so many reasons why we loved this story.

First and foremost, these characters and their situation ring of truth and realism. We’ve all heard the stories and read the news. And we all understand that in 1963, homosexuality was considered by many to be a sin, a perversion, a threat to society, and something to be feared and quashed. But for most of us, it’s only something in a book or a paper. This story makes all of that seem real and tangible, and it offers us a glimpse into what that life might have been like – both the good and the bad.

He knew what they were saying about Edward…and now about him. He heard the whispers…hurtful words hidden behind cupped hands and lowered eyelids.

Queer.

Pervert.

Faggot.

At first, Jasper would stiffen at the sound, fists clenched and arms braced for battle. But Edward convinced him that no good would come of it.

In Turns, we also see new love. We see an awakening, a coming of age of two young men, and a rebellion against what’s forbidden and taboo in favor of what’s true to their hearts.

“Jasper,” he whispered, his hands stilling on the guitar. “What are you doing?”

Jasper reached out tentatively, his fingers barely touching Edward’s cheek as he moved closer, warm breath mingling between barely parted lips.

“I don’t know,” he whispered back, just before he leaned in to kiss Edward softly. It was timid…gentle…barely a brush of chapped skin and moist breath. He pulled back slightly, dizzy and uncertain, but Edward surged forward to close the gap between them, capturing his lips again with a quiet whimper.

But that kind of love, isn’t allowed. And in this story, we witness the depths of human cruelty and all the subsequent heartbreak.

This is an extraordinary journey in so few words. You truly care for these characters. You feel their love and their heartache. You fear for them. You hope for them. You experience their devastation. This story, while only a one shot, is a complete one, too – a whole story laid out from beginning to the very end.

The writing here is lovely, too, a joy to read. It’s somehow hopeful, yet at the same time, it’s haunting and melancholy and bittersweet.

Make sure you have a tissue or two nearby.

Note: Turns also won the Best Secondary Centric Award. And Tkegl’s second entry, A Swirl of Circles and Stars was awarded Best Tragedy.

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1st Place Popular Vote:

Author: KiyaRaven
Pairing: ExB
Summary: Every day he passes and I let him, knowing that everything’s wrong. Wanting so much to fix it but scared to try. Sometimes doing nothing is the worst form of cowardice, and right now, he needs me to be brave.

Like Turns, Phoenix is a great example of how a complete and complex story can be told in surprisingly few words.

It’s a story of a once happy man who has lost everything and who shatters and of the woman who picks up all the jagged pieces. It’s a story of loss and of recovery and of second chances.

The introduction is heartbreaking, because you see someone who is so lost and hurt that his mind refuses to accept reality.

I haven’t seen him for a week. A week in which I’ve wondered, probably too many times, how he is. What he was doing. If I should try to see him.

But now here he is, as if nothing has happened, pushing the bright red stroller along the sidewalk, looking my way and smiling as he slows down and stops near the mailbox.

“Hey, Bella.”

I wipe my dirty hands on my jeans and try to match his casual ease, but it’s difficult. This is surreal.

He looks so happy. How can he when I feel like my stomach is made of stone?

You can guess where it goes from there. There are tears and heartache, but in the aftermath, we then see compassion and kindness and the eventual, slow journey back from the abyss.

And along the way, as wounds begin to heal, that second chance emerges. But only if he can get past the guilt of what moving on might mean. There’s a specific moment in this story that will make your heart hurt because his angst is also hers.

“And let me say this – you don’t need to remind me I’m not Tanya. I’m very aware that at best, I’ll always be your second choice, and that fucking KILLS me, because what you don’t understand is that you’re my first choice. My ONLY choice. And knowing that I’m not that to you… That I’ll NEVER be that to you… ”

I swipe at my stupid tears and try to push past him, but he grabs me, holding me fast.

“Bella, wait -”

My blood is pounding in my ears as I slap at his chest, but he grabs my wrists, pulling them against him.

“Let me go!”

This is a great story and it’s one where you truly root for both Edward and Bella, separately and together. Grab a hanky but be prepared to smile, too.

Note: Phoenix also won Most Deserved HEA.

Thanks again, Fandom.

You’re awesome <3