http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5465716/1/Marked

http://twilighted.net/viewstory.php?sid=8515

Official Description: Edward Masen is a self-sufficient, independently wealthy man with a PhD in Social Anthropology. When he meets a man named Jasper, he is shaken by the disappointment he feels when Jasper is apparently an impossibility. ExJ, Slash, OOC

Don’t miss the one-shot that inspired it all.

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subtlepen says: I’ve followed (stalked, really) Naelany since chapter one of At the Deep End, and SorceressCirce since chapter one of Just One of the Guys, and fell in love with both of them as writers. Nae creates loving, strong, endearing boys that aren’t just slashy ‘chicks with dicks,’ and Circe has an amazing way with delicate material, a sensitive hand at conveying complex emotions and weaving realistic relationships. As a collab, their work is guaranteed to be heartstring-pulling, sigh-inducing, and smoking hot. Marked lives up to that promise.

The original O/S begins with Edward’s recollections of meeting a superficially boring-looking Jasper at a tattoo parlor (where Edward is doing research for a photography book on body modifications), given to us as flashbacks woven into the present day. We see Edward lust over Jasper during his tatt session, and afterward invite Jasper to model for his book. Although he is attracted to Jasper, he has no idea if Jasper is gay, or attracted in return. On parting, Edward overhears a conversation that leads him to believe Jasper is, in fact, straight and expecting a child.

The photo shoot several days later smolders, thick with tension and innuendo, banter just on the edge of flirtation, and enough ogling of Jasper’s physique and ink to make the reader a quivering mess. Edward’s understated internal dialogue and lustful observations from behind the lens propel us forward in a way that makes Edward completely endearing and satisfyingly real:

“Good…now lean back in the chair…there you go. Remember, do whatever feels right…” My voice was low as Jasper shifted, slumping down in the chair and resting his head against the back. He raised both his arms, letting them fall casually overhead, and the sight of his toned abs stretched out on display was too much. I envisioned going to him, covering his body with mine and kissing that tempting place just under his jaw. I could nearly feel Jasper’s hands running along my sides and down my back before they cupped my ass, squeezing roughly as he thrust his hips into mine and kissed me passionately.

He arched an eyebrow at me through the viewfinder, and I realized I was motionless, rooted to the floor as I forced my fantasy away. I quickly snapped a few pictures to try to capture that playful, amused expression on his face as I said quietly, “Looking good, Jasper…” I continued giving instructions, trying to cover my embarrassment.

The O/S concludes with a f***hot bit of Edward self-love, fantasizing as he looks at the photos he’s just taken of Jasper. Afterward, he decides that there was just enough ambiguity in their interactions to give him hope, and he looks forward to one more meeting with Jasper and figuring out if the man he assumed was off-limits and impossible might be Mr. Possible, after all.

While it stands alone beautifully as a one-shot, it practically begged to be continued. Thankfully, it is. We are now 14 chapters in, and have been treated to the development of their relationship from the early awkward days of the photo shoot, to admitting their mutual attraction, then progressing as their intimacy, and their bond, deepens. This story offers two beautiful, intelligent, successful men, living their lives with a missing part, hoping they’ve found it with someone new.

Naelany and SorceressCirce deliver hot Tattward and Inksper by the bucket load, but they make sure they’re people, men, with hearts and thoughts and lives we can understand and relate to, first and foremost. We are given wonderful side characters that add to the story without distracting us from the main event; Mike, Kate, Emily and a truly precious Bella among my favorites. There are hints at painful prior relationships that we can all relate to without adding unnecessary drama, while adding a layer of mystery that keeps me intrigued. While the ‘boys’ are currently together, there is always the underlying tension of a fragile new relationship – can they make it last, will Jasper’s past keep him from moving forward, can Edward hang on long enough for Jasper to really let him in…

And then, of course, there is the sexing. Let me tease you with just a snippet of an early encounter:

I took him in hand, but he pulled away, making me frown as I opened my eyes and looked up at him. He grinned down at me lazily, his hands hooking into the waist of my pants as he tugged. I lifted my hips, and he pulled them down my thighs, moving to the end of the couch so he could remove them completely.

“Oh, hell yes.” I gave him a crooked grin as I ripped my shirt off over my head, running my fingers through my hair as I lay back to watch Jasper get rid of the rest of his clothes. My eyes roamed his form, my hand automatically going to my cock as I stroked myself, appreciating the sight of his toned body. I was especially drawn to the tattoo on his chest again and the way the metal stood out against his darkened nipples, but I lowered my gaze, biting my bottom lip as I reached out with my other hand to trace the V leading down to his dick, standing tall and thick.

Makes your mouth water, no?

I am blown away with every generously long new chapter by how effortless the storytelling seems, how natural the dialogue, how honest their interactions, and how familiar their emotions. There isn’t anything here that is supernatural, no horrible hidden skeletons, no gut-wrenching angst (yet?), no trumped-up scenarios. While that statement might not draw you in, I urge anyone that appreciates true romance to give this story a try. Hell, even if you aren’t a fan of romance, anyone that’s interested in elegant, subtle storytelling needs to read this. It’s a beautiful thing to watch a relationship develop so realistically when so many stories beat us over the head with melodrama and secrets and jealousy. This isn’t just great sexy slash. It’s well crafted fiction we can all learn from.

…and fall in love with.

SnowWhiteHeart says: Ok, let me set a little scene for you. Innocent little Snow White is sitting at her computer and chatting with some of her Twitter friends. She found out that some of her friends wrote “slash”. It was early on in her fanfic career, and she hadn’t heard of the term “slash”. When finally figure out what it meant, she thought to herself, “I don’t think I’d like to read about Edward and a guy.”

Flash-forward to today, when I’m positively salivating over Marked. I initially read it because I knew the two awesome girls who wrote it, and to be honest, my curiosity got the best of me. I thought it would feel oh-so-wrong…but it was definitely right.

In Marked, Edward is a pierced and tatted photographer who takes pictures of tattoos for his book. Jasper is seemingly a straight-laced businessman, but b
eneath his pressed shirts and tie, he’s anything but straight-laced. Or straight. Once Edward sees Jasper’s tattoo, it’s enough to send him over the edge.

I watched impassively as he unbuttoned his shirt, but when he tossed it to the wall beside me, a delicious fragrance wafted over – slightly sweet, just a little zesty with a hint of citrus, and…something…some undertone I couldn’t place but that smelled very familiar. The mystery ingredient was forgotten when I glanced back at Jasper and caught sight of him in a thin white undershirt. The dark shadow of a tattoo spread across his chest on the left side, and the twin outlines of nipple rings made my eyes widen.

God damn.

As much as I enjoyed the aesthetics of beautiful tattoos, there was something primal about piercings that evoked a visceral reaction from me every time. The feel of metal biting into the soft flesh of my lips, the metallic, tangy flavor…I swallowed against the saliva invading my mouth as I forced my eyes back up to Jasper’s face just in time to watch it disappear as he took off the undershirt. That, too, landed on the wall beside me.

He motioned me forward with a simple hand gesture and a “See?”

I stepped toward him, stopping a few inches away as I examined the first one. The black ink of the tattoo was dark, a moonless midnight against the fairer skin of his chest. I looked closer, catching that tantalizing scent again. The design was abstract, a mix of thick curves and angles. The only parts I could be sure of were a wing and what must be a head. “So what is it?”

“A phoenix.” His answer was curt, the playfulness in his voice gone.

This is from the first chapter, which is from the original Marked, which is a one-shot. I’m so glad they turned it into a multi-chapter fic. I had– HAD– to know what happened to these two hot and sexy fellas.

And I was truly shocked to see that I didn’t care that Bella wasn’t with Edward. This pairing, which I later found out is a common occurance in slash, is just meant to be. They’re sweet, they’re hot, and they’re RED SOX FANS! WOOOO! (Is my Boston showing?) Anyhow, Marked shouldn’t be missed, regardless of whether you’re a slash-a-holic or a little innocent like I was so long ago.