Crossroads (Sentinel story)

You may be looking for the Sentinel zine Crossroads.

Jim/Blair Fanfiction
Title:	Crossroads
Author(s):	Alyjude
Date(s):	23 May 2001
Length:	~20000 words
Genre:	Slash, First Time
Fandom:	The Sentinel
External Links:	AO3 Author's Website (Wayback Machine)
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Crossroads is a Jim/Blair story by Alyjude.

Author's Notes

Disclaimer: I am *not* responsible for the rolling blackouts - Jim is. He has this new - dildo, for Blair and it has these bells and whistles and you have to plug it in and Blair isn't *NOT* happy about *that* but loves how it feels, not that it feels better than Jim, just that it does *more* than Jim but the Edison company got wind....oh, and i'm making no moola off this stuff.

Note: I hate everyone who gets to go to MediaWest. Just thought I'd let you know that <G>. Thank you to melvin for the beta. Changed it a bit so errors are mine, like that's new.

Warning: Well, I could say something about dildos and energy conservation, but Jim won't listen. And this *is* a story based on Crossroads. That should be warning enough, right?

Summary: Wherein Jim says good-bye to Blair and Simon who then try to get off the mountain (without much success) while Jim ruminates over the fact that maybe he wished they were still here - or at least that Blair was still here, er, there, um, with him, you know? He also decides that his mid-thirties have been great. Duh.

*NOTE: Each part opens with a line or two from Mariah Carey's song *Hero* except part 8, which is not a song lyric.

Reactions and Reviews

2006

One of the things about Sentinel fandom is that if there's pain to be dealt, physical or emotional, Blair Sandburg inevitably gets the short straw because he does "hurt" so well. And those are great, but sometimes you just need a story that shows the side of Blair that rises to whatever challenge life throws at him, that shows his strength. Crossroads has Blair and Simon badly hurt in the middle of nowhere and shows Simon's growing respect as he leans on Blair to get them out of trouble.

I always like stories that play off of Jim and Blair's images in the reverse -- like the one you rec'ed -- because in the series, both characters have shown aspects of what the other is more known for emotionally (say, Jim when he sees his father again, and Blair when any friend of his is killed - he goes off alone when Jim's trying to be emotionally available). But, it is, as you say, a surprisingly equal partnership, and one of the reasons why it's so much fun to watch.

Jim's open about some things, closed off about others. So is Blair -- he just knows how to tap-dance verbally around people better than most.

I guess because(in the series) Blair is often the one being hurt as plot facilitation, and Jim is often the one doing the rescuing because he's the cop, it translated in fandom as Jim [equals] strong/stoic, and Blair [equals] passive/weak/etc. It's a good example of how fanon often reads into characterization rather than character.

Oh, this is one of Alyjude's fics I really *do* love, although it could do well without the cobbled-on slash at the end as this somehow weakens the impact of the first part which is very well done.

I'm with you, the slash is so separate from the rest of the story that I think it works better without it, in this case, but I frigging love the Simon/Blair interaction throughout.

I adore this Blair who drags Simon out of the wilderness after first using all his anthropological and other skills to come up with that sled-like thingy and everything. And then he just goes and goes and goes... Sigh... This should teach Simon a valuable lesson of never again underestimating the observer he can be glad o have in his unit.

2008

Okay, I admit it. One of my guilty pleasures is martyr!fic, i.e., I get a perverse thrill out of watching someone get the crap kicked out of him till someone else realizes the poor abused guy is a saint and showers him in puppies and rainbows (preferably with most of the crap kicking taking place pre-story). Fortunately I'm not alone, as evidenced by the Sentinel fandom -- how else can you explain the fact that 75% of all Sentinel fic is martyr!Blair!fic?

Crossroads is just such a story. After the events of Crossroads, Jim is a dick (seriously, is he really such a jerk in canon?) and sends Simon and Blair packing. Of course, Simon and Blair promptly run their car off of a cliff, because no Sentinel fic is complete without Blair getting into *some* sort of trouble. Now he's stuck at the bottom of the cliff with an injured Simon and no way to call for help. Meanwhile, Jim has reached the guilty stage of martyr!fic, realized he is an asshole, and is off to find Blair. But is it too late?

All of the aspects of martyr!fic are here: asshole!Jim, martyered!Blair, sympathetic!Simon, but the fic rises above the rest in that Blair totally kicks ass. This Blair doesn't need to be rescued, he can damn well rescue himself. And Simon! And sing jaunty tunes in the process! A fantastic guilty pleasure fic from one of my favorite guilty pleasure authors.