Monday, April 26, 2010

LolaShoes and MasenVixen do "The Blessing and The Curse"





The Blessing and The Curse

14

The Black Arrow



Admittedly, M and Lo are late to this fic. At present, it is on chapter 19 (plus a prologue) and we can fairly safely say that the wait for chapter 20 is killing us. To bide our time and give the (very shoddy) appearance of being patient, we tweet our favorite lines to each other over and over and, basically, fangirl the hell out of The Black Arrow. We hope our efforts come across as more motivating and sweet than stalkerish and obsessed. We may or may not be successful.

So, to honor our devotion to this chapter, we are doing a lemonshot of the epic banging that occurs in Chapter 14 (for what it's worth, we will hunt you down and spank you in the not-fun way if you skip over ANYTHING leading up to Chapter 14). Between the two of us, we've probably read this chapter 700 times.

Lo: Christina (tby789) told me I had to read this and when I started it I hated Edward with the fiery heat of fourteen suns. She said trust her. I said I couldn't trust anyone who sends me as much porn and sex toy links as she does and who only drinks pink cocktails. She said to try a little harder to trust her. So I did and... yeah. Candycheeks was right. This story currently owns my flimsy and slightly dogeared soul.

M: I read this story because Lo tweeted about it obsessively. I specifically recall her saying she wanted to throw her iPhone across the room when it died mid-chapter. Any story that can inspire you to injure your Jesus phone, well, it's one I need to read. I should add that this story sucked me in immediately, which is a true rarity for me.

*~*~*

Ok, so, the Bella and Edward in this story have been lifelong . . . well, shit, there's no simple way to characterize their relationship. You *really* have to read the whole story. But suffice it to say, they share a deep connection which is at once beautiful, hideous, addictive and terrifying. This chapter picks up on the verge of the consummation of 26 years worth of the most simmering UST I've ever read.

Be forewarned, this Edward is nicknamed "Curseward" for a reason (read: he's not called "Blessward"). He's possessive. Jealous. Tyrannical in some spots. But he loves Bella in a way that no one else ever could. The central - believable - conflict here is whether you should choose to be with someone who is your soulmate but whose love swallows you whole.

Lo: M, I fear that this is going to be the longest lemonshot ever. We are essentially going to paste the entire chapter in here and then Chris Farley the hell out of it.

M: Well, we've pretty much already tweeted the whole chapter anyway soo...let's do it!

It starts off tense. The tension between these two is just killer:

She was swaying slightly, her knees either side of his thighs, her dress riding up in ways he wished he was in the mood to appreciate.

Lo: I love how controlled she makes him in this scene, it's such a contrast to him up to this point. He's so tightly coiled. It makes me a little bit crazy. Just a little.

M: ::snort:: I have to admit that I love seeing crazy fangirl side of Lo, since I'm that way with her. But more to the point, UNF. Wait. What were we talking about?

She smoothed her hands over his, her fingertips tracing the tight cords of the tendons in his forearms as she lowered herself down slowly onto his lap; no longer trusting her knees to hold her.

Lo: TBA does such an amazing job with visuals. I am not exaggerating when I say that each of the 564 times I have read this chapter I find something new that adds to the scene. I will keep reading until I no longer find anything new (and then I will read it 10 more times).

M: The imagery is just incredible and, lucky for you, you simply cannot grasp it all in one read. This lemon is more like a lemon tree. It keeps giving and giving and giving.

"Admit it," she said, allowing her hair to fall forward as she put her face into his neck, one fraction of an inch away from skin contact, "You don't control this." She pulled back. "I control this."

He scowled at her.

"You're pushing your luck."

M: God I love this. Curseward has led her to believe that he holds such power over her. But here, she's realizing her power and giving him a taste of his own medicine. Finally vulnerable, he's having a hard time capitulating.

Lo: Yes, he is a stubborn crazy bastard.

M: Uh, right. That too.

"Let me rephrase. I'm not the kind of toy you can just throw away when you're bored." His eyes dropped to her mouth.

"I will be your favourite toy." He leaned forwards slightly, scenting her tangled hair. "I want to sleep in your bed, and be taken wherever you go."

His husky, teasing voice was doing sinful wet things to her underwear, and she steeled herself against the naughty innocence in his eyes as he whispered, "Or maybe I'd take you wherever I go."

Lo: And then kill me now because he adds:

"I'll take you on every surface imaginable."

M: So at first I'm thinking about a security blanket. Snuggling up in bed with Curseward sounds so delicious (preferably naked, although I *do* love me some skull & crossbones waffle-knit pjs). And then he takes the double entendre to another level entirely and, yeah ... no security blanket in that fantasy.

"There's no point denying this," she whispered shakily, relief and fear splicing through her. "I can see there's no choice."

"You need to choose now," he breathed as she lifted her eyes, her final decision reached. "It won't count unless you kiss me first."

Lo: So, this line directly follows something that happened in My Thirst and here this Edward combines vulnerable and defensive, angry and soft into something really complex and appealing. I like seeing his soft underbelly. Mmmm, happy trail.

M: Even in his desperate need for her he's still commanding. It's just unbelievably sexy.

The press of his erection against her inner thigh felt hard enough to bruise her flesh, and she welcomed the blunt pain; felt an answering echo in her own body.

M: Ok, his erection is hard enough to bruise her? I don't even need to comment on this do I?

Lo: *Homer drool*

The memory of his hot, wet phone sex threats made her pause, and she felt her cheeks dimpling in an evil smile as she released him, letting him sit tangled, his hands trapped at the small of his back.

He refused to struggle. He forced himself to submit.

M: Yet again, you must read from the beginning if you want to read the hot wet phone sex which could garner it's own Lemon-shot. But it's the significance of Bella's evil smile, and Edward's submission, in contrast to that nearly sinister phone-sex that makes this so significant.

Lo: Unf. The phone sex. THE PHONE SEX. And when you read it you'll be like "Psshh, YOU ASS!" and then when you get to chapter 19 and you realize you have to wait for more and so you go back and start all over again instead of writing your own fic or, you know, showering, you'll see so many things you didn't see before. Yes. This is me, fangirling my ass off.

"It might not be gentle."

Just a moment later he says,

"I'll go slow for as long as I can…." he muttered, his fist in her hair tugging to tilt her head, leaning in to bite a sharp and softened trail down the side of her neck, "It's not going to be easy. You're so sexy."

M: Okay, so. I cannot sanely choose a favorite line in this chapter. But this one is damn close. Because now you know it's going to happen. And he's going to try not to fuck her senseless. But he's going to fail. Ok screw it, this IS my favorite line.

Lo: Hot damn. I love this so hard. I love it because of how the lemon does unfold and how he really does react. I also love how honest he is with her now because she knows it all and there's no point pretending that he is in control. Guh. Honestly, I've read this part so many times it's embarrassing. <--Hardcore Chris Farley moment.
He was trembling, and the zing in her nerve endings was too much to bear; the light hair on his body tantalising her white skin. How she would survive him stroking the tiny sweet ache between her thighs, she did not know.

Lo: UNF. That is all. I cannot be articulate about this line.

M: Tiny. Sweet. Ache.

[Lo: We have probably tweeted this line to each other more times than we should admit and clearly are reduced to monosyllables and one-handed typing (winka winka) when we quote it again.]

"Like a little bomb," he commented, his voice thick with amusement as he pressed his open mouth over her thudding heart. "Let's make you explode."

M: GOD. This line. Kills me. And there's a deeper meaning here that you need to read the chapter to grasp. But he's just so arrogant and tender at the same time. Open mouth over her thudding heart? Her heart ticking like a bomb? I could write a page about this line.

Lo: It's been hinted in previous chapters that her perspective on their relationship may not be completely accurate but here is where he's really starting to show how vulnerable he makes himself to her. This line carries so much meaning - setting Bella off sexually is something he's always wanted to do and he knows his strength in that department. But setting Bella off emotionally is something that will change the dynamic between them forever and I like to think that's also what he's referring to here.

Suddenly, he was kissing again. Her skin felt so sensitive, she was sure she could feel the contours of his fingerprints against her, the lines on his palms. The hand that wasn't holding her wrists had drifted up slowly, drawing webs of sensation across her stomach and ribs, before he delved his fingers deep into the plush warmth between her breasts.

"Can I live here?" he asked softly, his mouth leaving her to press against her heart again, cupping her other breast, gently twisting and rubbing the tip with his fingers, his calloused skin creating the perfect friction. "Can this be my home?"

M: Is this the sweetest image ever? Hard, possessive Curseward resting his head between Bella's breasts and asking to *live* there?

Lo: Sigh. This line makes me all heartclenchy and wanting to hug-slap-hug Curseward. Also: "contours of his fingerprints". GAH WOMAN! It's the kind of line I wish I wrote. *shakes fist at TBA*

"You know everything now," he said softly as he dragged himself up to kiss her mouth again, craving the taste of her mouth each time he stopped.

Lo: Not gonna lie, I read the word "craving" about 7,000 times the first time I read this. Why is that one word in that context so hawt?

M: Le swoon. I love the attention paid to the kissing in this lemon (tree).

He swallowed, trying to clear his head, knowing in a sick moment of clarity that he would do anything, no matter how desperate or depraved, to keep her. He would crawl, or worse. The knowledge terrified and empowered him.

He didn't know what this said about him, but his cock grew impossibly harder.

Lo: I love his conscious desire for control contrasted with his unconscious need to just give in to her and to what's between them.

M: The idea of his cock getting harder at the thought of crawling for her? Yeah, I'm a useless pile of mush by this point. Sorry, Lo.

He retraced the red line tenderly with his lips, making her squirm.

"It's me, and only me." He continued raggedly, sliding an arm up behind her to unclip her bra with an impressive snapping motion. He'd obviously had a lot of practice, she thought worriedly as he slipped the straps from her and flung it at the bookcase.

Lo: I love the image here because I can totally see Curseward throwing her bra. I bet the man doesn't put anything down gently.

M: So much I love here. At the same time he's asking her to confirm that he's her one and only at the expense of one out-of-town fiance), she's picking up on how many women he's been with before her. I don't know how TBA does it, but she's constantly juxtaposing contradictory motives and reactions.

Lo: Why do you have to be so smart? I'm like "Ug. Bra throw. Sexy man." and you're like "I'd like to take a moment to analyze the juxtaposition of..." Smart hoor.

M: ::adjusts spectacles::

"It's happening so soon," she managed. She was utterly overwhelmed; she doubted her heart would withstand this.

"It's been twenty six years. How much more build up do you need?"

M: Lo didn't include the next line, but lucky for you I happen to have it memorized. First, imagine Edward kissing his way up her leg. Ready? "How many more miles?"

Lo: I like that he actually stops here and then begins kissing up her leg instead of continuing what he was doing. Throughout the story he starts to listen to her so much more (as in listen to what she wants and feels, rather than listen to her mind) and I found this part really sexy because of that.

He was finally naked, and the sight of his body was beyond any gasping erotic nightmare she had jolted awake from over the years. His stomach muscles flexed as he heard her mental gasp as she caught sight of his cock. Beautiful, she thought. Big, she amended, and he snorted with laughter.

Lo: Of course he's hung - he's Edward. But I love being shown the moment that she looks at him. I can almost feel like I'm following her eyes down and that is fucking hot.

M: Is it possible that we haven't yet mentioned that Curseward can read Bella's mind? Well, only if he's touching her (how sexy is that by the way?) Anyway, here you see him hearing her thoughts at seeing his cock for the first time since at least puberty. Earlier on in the story Curseward promises the mindreading would lead to mindblowing sex ("I'll know what you want before you will"). And, yeah, he's right.

"I'm such a caveman." He said almost inaudibly in a sarcastic drawl. She whimpered, and he felt the tremor of fear run through her.

"Don't be afraid of it," he said, sliding a finger into her, twisting softly.

"Accept it. Don't you know I'd kill for you?"

M: This Edward's self-awareness and ownership of his dark side is, I have to admit, one of the things I find sexiest about him. Curseward, you can play in my cave any time.

Lo: This is one of those lines that makes me want to hit him. He has such a soft sweetness and then he covers it up with this mania over her and I am so anxious to see how it unfolds in the remaining chapters. There is something sexy about knowing that someone would do anything for you, but his honesty that he would kill for her, and the fact that there no doubt he would, is one of those things that make him seem like the bomb.

She freefell towards orgasm until he caught her, shaking his head. "Not yet." He warned.

She lay trembling, eyes unfocused, not noticing his wicked smile as he said, "Okay, now."


Lo: God he is such a bastard. I love him.

M: The on-command orgasm only works for me with certain kinds of Edwards. Like, for instance THIS ONE.

*~*~*

Lo: And that's all we're gonna quote. ::nods:: (psst: hey guys, that was still only foreplay! We didn't even quote Lo's favorite line!!) This was just a tease! Go now!

M: So, I know what you're thinking. "They've quoted all the *good* parts." You're wrong. This chapter -- hell, this whole story -- is full of lines and imagery that make you ache in the good way in all the right places. Run. Read. Repeat.




If you've never heard of Lo and M I feel for you. Srsly go read their stuff, you will NOT be disappointed.

7 comments:

Tina Quick said...

Hawt damn I love this fic and can't WAIT until the next chapter is posted!

tby789 said...

I love this story. LOVE IT. What an amazing rec, you guys. Off to go reread this chapter.

candysays said...

I read Twilight as fic for The Blessing and the Curse. Really.

Ouiser B. said...

I have been totally consumed by this story and patiently trying to support and not harass the utterly talented Ms. TBA as we all wait for this story's conclusion.

But yall's rec has made it painfully clear to me that while waiting I need to re-read the whole damn thing.

Thank you!!!

Elora MacCoinnich said...

You two have captured exactly how I feel about this story......it leaves me breathless, speechless but wanting more, needing more! I get chills every time I think of it. I have sent Sally love letters because of how haunting her story is and how it has consumed me. I anxiously wait for the next update but then don't want to read it because I don't want to get closer to the ending! There is so much more to the story than what you have touched on but Chap 14 is the one where you finish reading it and basically stare at the screen because it was so intense (and then go back and read it again and again). Gah! Love it so much!

Micki_Martini said...

I can't get enough of this story. I've read it and re-read it countless times. It is hauntingly erotic. I will go into a state of despair when it is finished. TBA is enormously talented and one could write a book on this story and it's meanings and imagery.

C.S. Maxwell said...

I am so gonna have to read this...didn't know that LS was partly responsible for this story....she is like my freakin' hero....what a writer!