The BS Factor
| Jim/Blair Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The BS Factor (original title, also "The B.S. Factor") |
| Author(s): | Jen Riddler |
| Date(s): | 1996 |
| Length: | 12,624 words |
| Genre: | slash, darkfic |
| Fandom: | The Sentinel |
| External Links: | SATYRICON AU GO GO: The BS Factor (MA) (original site), Archived version online at AO3 |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The BS Factor is a Sentinel story by Jen Riddler.
The first season of The Sentinel resulted in mainly upbeat stories, matching the tone of the show. One major exception was the slash story "The BS Factor" by Jen Riddler, which was posted toward the end of the season. It had a much darker tone and ended on a horrifying note.
The reaction on the fandom's main mailing list, Senad, was immediate and shocked, not just because of the story itself, but because Jen had woven it seamlessly into canon, making what at the time were logical assumptions about the characters as they had been seen to date; the story was a plausible explanation for everything that had happened in first season.
Riddler also wrote a "sort-of" sequel to "The BS Factor" called The Blair Project.
Sequels by Other Fans
Mindfuck Tangent is a sequel by Ann Teitelbaum, one she calls "a tangental story." It was posted with permission from Jen Riddler in March 1997.
Reactions and Reviews
Date Unknown
I had tears in my eyes as I was reading this. I had my hand over my gaping mouth, a look of total belief on my face.[1]
The more confused among you may sometimes wonder as you skim the Sentinel Slash archives - exactly what kind of Sentinel slash story am I reading? I admit to being extremely confused when the first Senslash story I ever read was one where Blair turned out to be some kind of evil government agent assigned to kidnap Jim, who spent most of the rest of the story under heavy sedation and in five point restraints having hideous experiments carried out on him. Not having ever seen the actual programme this left me in a state of great puzzlement, similar to the kind of thing a novice X-files slasher must have felt upon tuning into the genre in the middle of the now notorious eggbeater challenge. [2]
1998
"BS Factor" is by Satyricon Au Go Go. Or is that the name of the web site? I'm not sure. Anyway, thats where you can find it. It's one of my favorites too. Also "Ellipsis" was one of Sharon's stories. Unfortunately she's removed her stories from the web, because she had complaints from readers that her stories were too dark, and they didn't like the way she treated Blair. I will admit that her stories were not to everyone's taste. They were dark, angst filled, and maybe a bit twisted (she admits this herself), but I enjoyed them. Whether that indicates a twisted personally, I don't know <g>. I've always loved dark stories. Not to say I don't like lighter stories too. It depends on what kind of mood I'm in. [3]
The B.S. Factor is one of my favs as well just because it blindsided me when I first read it! I simply *loved* the whole premise. (There's a sequel out there somewhere, isn't there?) [4]
1999
It's the first story I read where Blair wasn't this loveable, cuddly, good natured guy.
I don't want to tell too much of the story 'cause that would ruin it for those who haven't read it, but I'd still have to say that it wasn't really and *evil* Blair, or even a bad one. It was a *different* Blair than we're used to seeing, one who was acting under orders of his superiors.
I recommend it as a definite "jump to the left" of the Blair Sandburg we see on the show. It's on the Satyricon Au Go-Go site. [5]
It's been almost 2 years since I read that story and I still remember it. It was a good very good story and surprising as well. [6]
2001
"The BS Factor" was posted during second season, just a few months after Senad started up, and it's a story that *everyone* who was in the slash fandom when it dropped read and still remembers. And no one ever talks about it. Ever. (Well, until it suddenly showed up on a list right when I was going to start talking about it <g>)
So it was a surprise to me, on IRC a few nights ago, when someone said, "Yeah, and remember when Jen Riddler posted The BS Factor?" *Wham*, I was right back feeling everything I felt when I first read that story. This was posted before warnings were required in this fandom; hell, it was posted before we had *SXF*, back when Senad covered both fic and discussion. The entirety of the warnings on it were:
> MA- Mature Adults only. Contains m/m sex, violence and strong language.
So, basically, I read it absolutely cold (which made the experience that much more powerful, and therefore that much better [in its own way]).So I started wondering if it would still be as powerful today.
I do know that in one sense, it *can't* be; the story was written during early second season, and blew away everyone I know of who read it; IIRC, Senad had one of its first big blowups over that story. <g> People were stunned, shocked, angry, upset. It was... intense. Intense because you came away from it *believing* it -- hating that you believed, but believing. I doubt that anyone reading it now, after knowing what happens in the rest of the series, can even come close to that reaction. But at the time -- my god. It was *real*. There was *nothing* in canon to suggest that the story Jen had written couldn't happen.
It was real enough that all these years later, I was blown away again just remembering it.
I also remembered that someone (I can't for the life of me remember who) wrote a "fix" for the story. I found out I'd never read that, because someone gave me the plotline after I mentioned that I wanted to read BS Factor again and I didn't recognize any of it. Makes sense, though, because I *do* remember wondering at the time why anyone would try to "fix" such a wonderfully powerful story. It might not have been *pleasantly* powerful, but any attempt to soften it would by default weaken the entire premise -- and I was still wallowing happily in my stunned blown-away-ness. Hell, I *still* can't imagine reading the "fix" story.
So here I sat, after remembering all of that, wondering if I should read The BS Factor again. Part of me really didn't want to, for two reasons. First, because I didn't particularly want to go back to that place I was the first time I read it, and second, because I was afraid it wouldn't put me back to that place I was the first time I read it. Conflicted, who, me? <g>
And I was right about the second fear, in part. I knew what was coming so there was no moment of shocked realization at what had just happened, which was a big part of my initial reaction to it. Also, reading it I kept getting mildly sidetracked by the things that today are overworked fanon, although at the time they were fresh and new and didn't bother me in the slightest; quite the contrary. There were a few other things that caught at me, too -- some writing bobbles, some Australianisms that just didn't belong. Nothing major, but combined, it was enough to keep me from being as wholly sucked into the story as I was the first time around. (Of course, the first time around, I was sucked in to that degree where you don't notice the cat yelling at you that there's no food...)
On the other hand, knowing what was to come, I could appreciate even more the way Jen wrote it, with passages that on first read say one thing, and on second read say something very different: things like Blair's reaction to the shooting near the beginning; Blair's note-taking throughout. The tension was less because I knew what was coming, but started earlier because I could see the groundwork she was laying.
So. Does it stand the test of time for me? Yes. It's still a good story. I can still see it as branching off from first season, and it's still a powerful alternative look at first season. But the shock has faded, both because I knew going in what would happen and because I *know* now that Jen's world isn't a real reflection of the TS universe.
One other thing that has softened the effect of it is the evolution of the fandom itself. A little fandom history, for them as weren't here then: in the beginning (I feel like I should be using capital letters for that...), Sen fic was universally hhjj. It's still a fairly hhjj fandom, but darker threads have woven their way though since then. But at first, there simply was no darkness. Every story that dropped was going to have a happy ending, *somehow*. So all the way through the first read of this story, I was waiting for the rabbit to be pulled out of the hat. And waiting. And waiting. And at the end I sat there saying, "Oh my god, Oh migod, omigod." It was the very first hint we had that the TS universe didn't necessarily have to be sweetness and light. Came as a bit of a shock. <g>
I'm curious if people reading it cold for the first time now, having come later to the fandom or at least having read more of the fic and seen four years' worth of eps, rather than half a season's worth, reacted the same way, just *expecting* everything to work out for the guys, or whether they were always sort of aware that it might turn out at least a bit like the way it did.
And to put more specific story comments in this, I *love* the way she structured this, taking the reader from a happy, light-hearted, playful place to a place of such bleak despair. You don't see any shadows at all in the beginning, until you realize later on that you just *interpreted* them as light. She lays the groundwork so *well*, right down to Jim being the only one to ever say "I love you".
More than that, I love how she made it a story about love, even while it was a story about betrayal. The way Blair didn't realize he was trapped, too, until it was too late, was wonderful. It's the only thing that makes me not hate the story -- partner betrayal is not high on my list of things to read, and it's hard to imagine a more complete betrayal than this. But Blair betrayed *himself*, too, and somehow that works for me.
This one is still, most definitely, a keeper. [7]
The post that sparked my thoughts was Margie's mention of 'The BS Factor'. Though some didn't care for the story, due to its dark theme, or typos, or non-US writer type errors, I was very impressed. There were a number of stories that I read at about that same time that I found to be quite impressive and most of them were due to taking some giant steps away from canon -- character development wise or setting wise -- and playing with the way I viewed TS. Especially after reading what felt like a bazillion, 'Jim beats up Blair and tosses him out of the loft' stories. Now there's canon to support those stories, but I doubt if you could make me read one of them again, unless it was a gun point. (I'm not throwing 'Three Little Birds' into that group, it's a personal guilty pleasure.) [8]
2004
Heavy warnings on this one, but...wow. Very powerful and compelling and horrible things happen. [9]
Hellblazer once wrote a fic called The BS Factor. You either love it or hate it, but once upon a time everyone in TS fandom knew about it. [10]
2007
2016
this story has been haunting me since i read it earlier this week. it's very powerful. so far i just can't seem to get away from it... [13]
Oh, come on!!! This NEEDS a sequel!!! DESERVES a sequel!!! Jim is alive...those sonofbitches!!!!! What about Blair?? I refuse to call him Grant or Morrison. Pretty please with cherries on top?? I don't care if its sad or if it has some sort of a happy ending...I just want a resolution!
[14]
Fuck a duck, this is a good as I remember. Hoo-boy was this a killer back in the day, amidst all the schmoop (which I also loved). To me, this epitomizes what fanfiction writing is all about. [15]
References
- ^ from ScarletFBL's Sentinel Recs
- ^ Multiple Choice, Archived version, date unknown
- ^ Sally: Favorite Sentinel Fanfic, September 1998
- ^ Mick C.: Favorite Sentinel Fanfic, September 1998
- ^ Mick C.: Blair's dark side
- ^ Little Eva: Blair's dark side
- ^ by Margie, posted to Prospect-L, quoted with permission (January 10, 2001)
- ^ comment on Prospect-L, quoted anonymously (January 13, 20010
- ^ Gila Recs, 2004
- ^ Gila Recs, 2004
- ^ a 2007 comment at Crack Van
- ^ a 2007 comment at Crack Van
- ^ comment by grlewis at AO3, January 2016
- ^ comment by Breyito at AO3, February 2016
- ^ comment by mickanick at AO3, May 2016