Five in the Stink Challenge by Polly Bywater, Arianna and Chrys (NC-17)

[magician113.livejournal.com]

So I bet you thought I would follow the apocalypse with something light and fluffy? No such luck! Next up is a real angst-fest!

Fandom: THE SENTINEL
Pairing: Jim/Blair, surprise pairings
Length: see individual stories
Author on LJ:polly_b, caarianna, chryssalys
Author Website: Polly at Dreamwidth , Arianna’s Aerie ,  Chryssalys’ Coccoon(also at 852prospect)

Why this must be read: Rare premise, varied treatments.
The explanation for this post is complicated – bear with me. Polly wrote the original story “Five in the Stink” for a Sentinel Thursday prompt last spring. For the Moonridge charity auction, she and another fan offered to donate money if anyone wrote a follow-up story to “Five”. Three people did: Arianna, Chrys and Polly herself. Arianna and Chrys wrote sequels. Polly wrapped her original story in a prologue, a sequel and an epilogue and changed the name to the “Forget Regret” series. Still with me? ^_^  Now, on to the story description.

Despite the trust issues brought up in canon, deliberate partner betrayal of any sort doesn’t make up a lot of Sentinel fanfic. There’s even fewer stories that deal with betrayal of a lover. However, “Five in the Stink” is a “Jim cheats on Blair” story. Fascinating because Jim is normally portrayed as loyal to a fault; so what would cause him to cheat? Blair’s the son of a woman who purportedly had many liaisons – would he understand and forgive? The three writers give completely different treatments of the issue – all worth a read.

So, how do you read them? I would suggest that you read them the way they were created. Read “Five” first, then read Arianna’s or Chrys’ sequels. Then read Polly’s entire series to see what she had in mind.

Five in the Stink by Polly Bywater and Love’s Forbearance by Arianna 57K words
EDIT: Love's Forbearance is now found at AO3:  http://archiveofourown.org/works/310672 

Five In The Stink by Polly Bywater
Building on Ashes by Chrys (NC-17) 52K

Forget Regret series by Polly Bywater (NC-17) 7800 words

Then, let the authors know how you feel about their work -- feedback!  Enjoy.