Title: Control Issues
Fandom: The Sentinel
Pairing: Jim/Blair
Categories: AU, angst, bonding!fic, slave!fic (sorta)
Length: (holy crap that's) Epic (~175,000 words)
Warnings: rape (not graphic)

Author on LJ:lit_gal
Author Website: http://litgal.org/

Review:
So I had originally planned on starting this rec with a rant about the problems I have with modern slave!fic, from the lack of plausible historical background (the US fought a *civil war* to stop slavery; the only way it would make sense to have modern Sentinel slaves is if African-Americans were still slaves as well) to the fact that most slave!fic is gratuitously brutal (it's the torture porn of fanfic). But then I realized that I put part of that rant in every single slave!fic rec I make and the horse, she is dead. Plus, there's only so much bitching that a single post can sustain.

With that in mind, on to the accolades! Like most modern slave!fic that I recommend, this isn't (strictly speaking) slave!fic. Instead, Sentinels are legislated for their own good, and thanks to some historical background (yay!), you can understand how they've been exploited to the point that the goverment's current Sentinel regulations (which are very similar to current real-life regulations for the mentally ill) came about. Jim, who isn't impressed with the idea of being placed under the care of a 'guardian' and having most of his choices dictated to him, is on the run from the government. Unfortunately, he's captured in Cascade, just before he was about to escape to Canada. The man who captures him: Blair Sandburg, working with the Sentinel division of the CPD.

One of my bigger issues with Sentinel slave!fic is the way one (usually Jim) or two (usually Simon) of the main characters buy into society's insistence on on turning part of their population (usually guides) into slaves. Since in the majority of these fics it means continual inhumane treatment of Blair, Jim and/or Simon come off as extraordinarily callous (and, consequently, exceedingly unlikeable). In Control Issues, however, it's *Blair* who buys into the government's propaganda and, because he's Blair, he helps capture Sentinels with the absolute best intentions and with a bone-deep desire to help protect them any way he can. Unfortunately, he doesn't have all of the facts, but it doesn't take long for him to come around (and, unlike Jim or Simon, Blair has an honest-to-goodness chance at making real, sweeping changes in his society).

Before this rec gets any freaking longer, I'll sum it up: Great characterizations of Jim and Blair, a well thought out and plausible universe, bonding mythology that is essential to the plot without being over-the-top, and an ending that manages to be happy without being absurd. A brilliant fic.

Control Issues (note: link to first part -- subsequent chapters are available from this page)