Damned
| Jim/Blair Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Damned |
| Author(s): | Virginia Vaughn (Virg Vaughn) |
| Date(s): | 2 February 2000 |
| Length: | 1966 words |
| Genre: | slash, drama, angst |
| Fandom: | The Sentinel |
| External Links: | Damned, Archived version (Virg and Fort's Fanfiction) At the 852 Prospect collection on AO3 |
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Damned is a Jim/Blair story by Virginia Vaughn.
Author's summary: "A different view of the J/B dynamic and the nature of acquiescence."
Author's Notes
From the story posting at 852 Prospect:
WARNING: This story contains issues relating to consent. It is not an easy read, but there is no physical violence. This may not be the way you see Jim and Blair. It's not always the way I see them either, but it's certainly a possibility in my mind.It's been almost a year since I posted a story. Blame slowness, zines and a fear of posting. This little vignette blossomed out of my initial gut response to Saraid's 'Dirty Little Secret' series. It's only taken me two years to get it written down.
As always -- my deepest thanks go to Maigret and Subrosa for their wonderful beta work. Good betas are worth their weight in gold. If there's any mistakes left -- they are all mine.
Reactions and Reviews
Unknown Date
There are lots of stories in which Jim or Blair say to the other: "I always knew you wanted me, too." And it's perfectly true. Damned by Virginia Vaughn explores what would happen if that weren't the case. It's not a long story, but it's filled with powerful, fascinating ideas and questions. The nature of consent. How easy it is to see what we want to see. The power Blair wields over Jim simply by being his Guide. How Jim's senses make him vulnerable. It's a compelling story that's sure to stay with you.[1]
Woo. And also, *eeek*. This story is a lot like being beaten when you know you deserve it, and secretly? Kinda want it, even though it hurts. Just one blow after another, and all you can do is aim yourself toward the source,asking (if silently) for more.
So, not a *happy* story, no.
But then, I have a thing for stories that fuck with the way things 'should' go, whether they're wild AUs, or simply the path most people don't take with the canon we're given. This story falls in the latter category, and while I wasn't *completely* convinced of Jim's characterization, the style and skill with while this was written more than made up for the little niggles.
And the last paragraph is a KILLER.[2]
2000
...definitely slash but borders on (if it isn't outright) partner rape; the desire is one-sided, single-minded, driven--but it's there. No romance, but the pain and tension have a definite sexuality to them.[4]
2004
IMO, Damned can't *exactly* be characterized as a rape-fic, especially not in the usual sense. It's a very well-written, devastating little story in which I don't believe Blair knows he's essentially raping Jim. In a way, it's a study of the aspect of Blair character that includes his ability and willingness to run right over top of what somebody else wants--generally in a very friendly and pleasing way, but nonetheless.[5]
i meant shudder as in 'shudder in sympathy', not 'shudder in pleasure'. the rape in Damned is not eroticized in any way, shape, or form. story is told from jim's pov, and it's horrifying. as in - giving one nightmares horrifying. for me, it's partly because of how close jim's experience in the story comes to *my own* experience.
Virg Vaughn. that's the author. trust me on this one, go read it. you may end up hating it - but imo, it's should be on everyone's list to read at least once.[6]
'Damned' has blair raping jim. it's an extremely unsettling fic, and it's one of my favorites. not because of the subject matter, but because no matter how many times i read it, the story sucks me in like a black hole, and makes me shudder in reaction. (i usually qualify this fic as a piece of straight horror, considering my reaction, although it's not (and shouldn't be) labeled that way.)
point of this ramble being, anything can be well done and well-written. but boundary exploration - whether that boundary is the universe as we know it or social roles or anything else - often requires a little bit more thinking and research into the subject area than i think a lot of authors are willing or able to do.[7]
I can see that reasoning too. One of the reasons Damned is such a good (and disturbing) story is that it makes you think. Another way to look at it, maybe, is that Blair has no way to know that Jim has this really messed-up thing happening in his head, telling him he has to do whatever Blair wants. And, if I were Blair, I would assume that if Jim Ellison didn't want me doing something to his body he would stop me--Jim's physically quite capable, and Blair wouldn't know that he's not emotionally capable.
That's how I imagine it, and story makes me feel so sad for Jim because, you know, what has happened to him in the past to make him believe he should live this way? And for Blair because if he understood what was happening he would probably want to shoot himself.[8]
i have to disagree. in my mind, blair didn't care whether he was raping jim or not - which rather automatically makes it rape imo. jim in this story reads (to me) as retro-actively trying to justify what happened as 'not really rape' - which is *textbook* victim reaction. i've done it myself. you can't understand how things got to this point, and you think you should have been able to stop it, so you think, well, maybe it really *wasn't* rape. but you have to take things told through that particular set of glasses with a grain of salt.
blair's a teacher, he bloody well knows what 'taking advantage of his position' means. he knows when he's crossing the line with students and jim *is* a student of sorts when it comes to the sentinel stuff. so to me, this story shows how much power blair actually has in the relationship, and how easy it would be for him to take advantage of it. if i may be allowed, i'd describe the plotline as 'hitler-esque', in that this story shows that sliding into that horrible darkness is much easier than one thinks. even for heretofor good men[9]
References
- ^ Annabelle Leigh's Fiction by the Sea: Recommendations, Take Two, Archived version
- ^ Teland: Sometimes a girl just needs a man with excellent taste., Archived version
- ^ Laura JV. Darkfic recs, November 2000, Archived version
- ^ from Prospect-L, quoted anonymously (September 2000)
- ^ comments at Prospect-L, quoted anonymously (November 2004)
- ^ comments at Prospect-L, quoted anonymously (November 2004)
- ^ comments at Prospect-L, quoted anonymously (November 2004)
- ^ comments at Prospect-L, quoted anonymously (November 2004)
- ^ comments at Prospect-L, quoted anonymously (November 2004)