Title: Cowboys Have Fangs, Too

Author: Pastiche Pen

Chapters: 4

Words: 23,857

Reviews: 170

Summary: When you're a Cullen, you're supposed to be a nice vampire. You're not supposed to want to kill librarians—or drink the drill team—or have a map of scars. And you're certainly not supposed to want to exsanguinate Edward's human. Aw, hell. Canon.

I really find Jasper as one of the more fascinating and complete characters in Canon. He is one of the few who we get a real picture of his past and present. I am so thankful that Pastiche Pen took some time to explore the years between meeting Alice and them finding the Cullens.

One of my favorite parts, right at the beginning was Jasper describing his coming into and understanding his empath ability. Pastiche Pen's description is almost lyrical.

Sometimes those descriptions fit. Sometimes they didn't. He'd skipped around at the time, trying to find different ways of categorizing and explaining his world to others. He'd been all about color when they'd conquered Monterrey. When he almost died at the hands of two newborns, he'd taken to describing emotions as the weather, seasons, and climates as if lightning bolts could match the new mess of crackled scars down his neck. At some point, some friend had slid Mendeleev into his hands, and then Jasper had taken to describing emotions in terms of the Periodic Table. Rage, he thought, was the alkalis, dropped in water and crackling and spitting off pieces until nothing else remained. Gold was confidence, heavy, unwavering, and luminescent. Calm was like noble gases—helium or neon—ready to be interrupted or absorbed by anything.

The other thing I love about this Jasper is his lighter, more playful nature in the present.

Normally, Jasper was the weak one. He was the one interested in all of the various ways to guzzle cheerleaders and exsanguinate chess club boys. He was the one with Edward meddling the most in his mind and with Alice most watching his future. He was the one whose hunting Esme kept calendar charts of.

That was until Edward up and fled off to Alaska—because he wanted to drink the new girl.

Jasper had a good laugh over that one.

Until Alice hit him.

This story gives a nice path of Jasper's empty path, falters along the way, and finally him being the emotional strength the love of his life needs. That his family needs.

3.5 out of 5 Naughty Nurse Hats