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Title: Imperfections by Dasha
Fandom: The Sentinel
Pairing: gen
Categories: AU, angst, h/c, crossover (very slight, with Monk)
Length: Long (~23,000 words)
Warnings: n/a
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dashamte
Website: http://soulcake.skeeter63.org/dasha.html
Review:
A sentinels are known AU in which Lee Brackett is Jim's abusive guide and Blair is about to wash out of the guide program. Lots of comfort with a touch of hurt ensues.
This is, by far, my favorite Sentinels are known universe. There is no slavery, there is no systemic government abuse, and there is no oppression of anyone. Instead you have genetically gifted people who are highly sought after by employers and who hire a support person to assist them in everyday functioning. It's all so very plausible and rational and practical and I just want to hug Dasha to bits for creating this universe.
On top of that, you have a simply amazing Jim, one who is strong when he needs to be and who is most emphatically *not* a victim, but who has also been beat down for long enough that hints of vulnerability keep shining through. Blair is equally layered: uncertain but dedicated and determined to be strong for his sentinel. Couple all of that with an interesting plot, some philosophical discussion of sentinels and guides, and a whole station full of secondary characters who make mistakes but who mean well and who come through in the end and you have one brilliant Sentinel AU.
Note: Imperfections is actually the first of a series. I'm not reccing the rest of the series (go here for my rant on the subject), but you can find the full series (including non-Sentinel stories) here
Imperfections
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Fandom: The Sentinel
Pairing: gen
Categories: AU, angst, h/c, crossover (very slight, with Monk)
Length: Long (~23,000 words)
Warnings: n/a
Author on LJ:
dashamte Website: http://soulcake.skeeter63.org/dasha.html
Review:
A sentinels are known AU in which Lee Brackett is Jim's abusive guide and Blair is about to wash out of the guide program. Lots of comfort with a touch of hurt ensues.
This is, by far, my favorite Sentinels are known universe. There is no slavery, there is no systemic government abuse, and there is no oppression of anyone. Instead you have genetically gifted people who are highly sought after by employers and who hire a support person to assist them in everyday functioning. It's all so very plausible and rational and practical and I just want to hug Dasha to bits for creating this universe.
On top of that, you have a simply amazing Jim, one who is strong when he needs to be and who is most emphatically *not* a victim, but who has also been beat down for long enough that hints of vulnerability keep shining through. Blair is equally layered: uncertain but dedicated and determined to be strong for his sentinel. Couple all of that with an interesting plot, some philosophical discussion of sentinels and guides, and a whole station full of secondary characters who make mistakes but who mean well and who come through in the end and you have one brilliant Sentinel AU.
Note: Imperfections is actually the first of a series. I'm not reccing the rest of the series (go here for my rant on the subject), but you can find the full series (including non-Sentinel stories) here
Imperfections
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chasethestars
chasethestars
Comments
Though I will agree that the Highlander stuff is the weakest of the series. It's worth reading for the other stuff, but skim the Highlander only material.
Being only a passing DS fan, I have no comment on that stuff.
But story IX? Is really good.
Which one is IX? I never made it that far.
One of the later ones explains that Blair had refrained from dating until Jim was more stable - he returned from one data to find Jim on the couch in some kind of distress. Jim hadn't bothered dating as he believed for a while that he had maybe 5 or 10 years tops before he died and that things wouldn't get better so why bother.
As for making it Blair/Jim slash, I could see it in the long term. In the short term, I think it has to be gen. Given Jim's history, Blair wouldn't even consider it -- to much potential for coercement. And Jim clearly isn't thinking about sex at all at this point in the story.
All that aside, later imperfections stories are some of my least favorite from Dasha, whom I adore as a writer. The John/Rodney ones are by far my favorite in that world.
Honestly, I really enjoy the first story in Imperfections and I do like the SGA ones. The rest (well, through the Highlander one, anyway) just never held my interest and actively frustrated me at times. And, honestly, I don't think making the series slash would have suddenly made me like it more, though by removing the smarm factor I think my frustration level would have been a bit lower.
IX is the last one, with Alex and the Sentinel Temple.
Thanks for the info on IX! Does this mean she's done with the series?