Hold Still by BBC (PG-13)

[macgeorge1.livejournal.com]

Fandom:  Highlander
Pairing:  N/A - Gen
Author on LJ:  not that I know of
Author website:  Angst-Free Zone
Why this must be read:  Not long ago, during an lj conversation about what constituted a Mary Sue, I offered up this story as a kind of anti-Mary Sue, featuring an OFC that didn't fall into the usual beautiful, tall, strong, magical, ancient, wise Immortal, blah, blah, blah.  Someone commented back that I was wrong (gasp!), that eventually Sadie, the witty, wry, rebellious, perpetually clueless, slightly overweight, semi-centarian OFC morphed into something that might be construed as a Mary Sue, so I went back and re-read The Whole Thing.  And my critic had a point, actually.  Sort of.  Towards the very end of this Toad's Wild Ride of a story, Sadie realizes she is just as special as all these tall, good-looking immortals she ends up bumming around with, but frankly she never loses her slightly idiotic charm.  Sadie bumbles and stumbles through a series of bizarre events - fires, beheadings, stabbings, etc., - commenting wryly on them all the while in a 'voice' that kept a near-constant grin on my face.  This long, involved, unlikely tale is full of adventures involving Methos and Duncan and Amanda and Richie and Joe, along with a half-dozen other fabulously memorable, entirely original characters, immortal and... otherwise.  So, if you want to have a good, long, satisfying chuckle, you must read this story.

The story in the morning paper about the mysterious fire put a damper on what was left of the morning. The entire top floor of Sandy's home had been completely devastated. That meant the carefree dominatrix had lost her entire collection of sex toys and costumes as well as all her personal clothing. While on the first floor only the foyer and the living room had burned, most of the remaining furniture was unsalvageable due to smoke and water damage.

       The source of the fire, the paper stated, had not yet been established although it seemed to be electrical in nature. The fact that the police had been to the Cane house before the had not been mentioned in the story. Probably nobody realized it yet. Or the police weren't telling. When the media did find out, would it begin to hint arson? At the very least, the professional sex games aspect would come out.

       I groaned and lay my head down on the bar.

        Sandy must hate me now.

       But… maybe she wouldn't care if it did if people found out about her moonlighting. It's just a game. She said so.

        Just keep telling yourself that.

       Having finished the rehearsal set-up, Joe and Edgar and tall stranger were noodling around on keyboard and guitar, waiting for the others to appear. Duncan was still with me at the bar.

       I felt his hand lightly touch the back of my lowered head. "Sadie," he said in his husky tenor.

       I moaned miserably. So much to do to try and fix what had been done. So little desire to even wiggle.

       "Sadie," Duncan said again.

       "What?"

       "Your hair is in the butter."

Hold Still

Comments

[cyberducks.livejournal.com]

That is such a fun story!

Sadie is no Mary Sue, gasp!

[twigged.livejournal.com]

Please edit your subject line to include the rating in parentheses, not the genre. Thanks.

[macgeorge1.livejournal.com]

done.

[twigged.livejournal.com]

Perfect, thanks.

[teresa-c.livejournal.com]

I just adored this story. It may very well be my favorite ever Highlander story (though that's a scary choice to have to make). I literally could make myself laugh out loud for a full week after reading "Daddy's busy now!"

As for Mary Sue-ness, I did wince after reading that Sadie had violet eyes, but really, if Mary Sues were written this brilliantly, I'd have nothing against them. I loved this story so much I made a 'zine out of it (with BBC's permission) for my personal use. Love is too ordinary a description of how I feel about this story. I clutch this story to my bosom with glee.

So glad you recc'd it!