Absence Of
| Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Absence Of |
| Author(s): | Saraid |
| Date(s): | 24 May 1998 |
| Length: | 3363 words |
| Genre(s): | Slash |
| Fandom(s): | The Sentinel |
| Relationship(s): | Jim/Blair |
| External Links: | Absence Of on Pumpkin's Slash Patch (Wayback Machine) Absence Of on AO3 (Locked to registered users) |
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Absence Of is a Jim/Blair story by Saraid. It was posted on Pumpkin's Slash Patch and 852 Prospect (which was later imported to Archive of Our Own).
Summary
Reactions and Reviews
[tatkreiswok]
Without question, one of the most notable episodes of the series was “Sentinel Too.” Not only because it left us with a main character's death as a cliffhanger, but because the show might have ended there, if not for the efforts of stalwart fans who pestered UPN (which I still think of as the “Utterly Pathetic Network” to this day) to bring it back.Needless to say, the cliffhanger left things in the air and spawned a slew of resurrection fics to fix UPN’s decision to leave us with dead air. “Absence Of” is one of the more chilling, and emotionally resonant resurrection stories to come out of “Sentinel Too.” Although not a “death story,” it reads like one – at least in the beginning – and the origin of sex, or sexual connection, in this tale gets its momentum from Blair’s “death.”
I read this when it first came out, and such was its impact that I’ve never forgotten it. This story packs a powerful punch that curdles your gut, and is heartbreaking in its intensity. Saraid’s talent is in making Jim’s pain so real and believable that it’s truly upsetting; and his neediness and hopeless longing are almost tragic. Those are the things that makes “Absence Of” definitely well worth a read…if you’re up to it.
Please mind the warnings on this one! I’m going to include the author’s own disclaimer verbatim: pumpkin told me to put it this way, folks: this story may or may not contain scenes of necrophilia (that's sex with a corpse, in case you didn't know) so don't read it if the thought makes you puke and don't flame me if you read it anyhow and chunder all over your keyboard. k? [1]
[slash_whore27]
It was a little squicky, but it all worked out in the end. (I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but it takes a lot to squick me.)[2]
[tatkreiswok]
I think that "Absence Of" deserves a read because it's such a potent little story. Hopefully, because things do work out in the end (i.e., Blair lives) other people will take a chance and have a read, too. :)[3]
[bluebrocade]
It was...um...interesting. ;-) I'm glad there was no actual, uh, penetration. That really would've squicked me. Actually, I'm suprised I haven't encountered a SenToo fixit story like this before. It's kind of the obvious solution (for slashers) to SenToo -- i.e. Jim fucks Blair back to life. (I can't believe I just typed that.)[5]
[tatkreiswok]
You make a good point; that this type of fixit makes the most sense, and yet it isn't common. Probably, I think, because of its high squick level.[6]