Bonding (trope)
| Tropes and genres | |
|---|---|
| Related tropes/genres | slavery, dominance hierarchy, Sentinel and Guides are Known |
| Related articles on Fanlore. | |
Bonding scenes and fanworks is a trope present in fandoms, and very prevalent in The Sentinel.
It differs from Bondmates (a term for committed relationship or marriage) and Soulbond (which implies two specific souls destined to be together).
In The Sentinel
The bonding of (usually) Jim Ellison and Blair Sandburg is based on the Sentinel/Guide bond, a genetic element that neither can escape. Often, the bond is portrayed as something to initially avoid, and through trials and tribulations, both characters learn to accept their destiny.
Gen or Slash
Bonding stories can be gen or slash.
The Cascade Library, which was steadfastly gen, refused to accept bonding fiction as it felt that these stories were too intense and bordered on homoerotic:
In the past the Library has allowed for the posting of stories containing "bonding scenes," with the hope that the authors would respect Library standards that the stories be free of any material which might be construed as non-gen. Of late, however, there have been writers who have pushed the envelope, and more often than not the bonding fics submitted to CL for archiving/linking have contained questionable material. We had hoped that such incidences were isolated events, but we now detect a pattern of increasingly suggestive material which indicates to us that some authors are in need of clarification on what we are able to archive at CL.While we at the Library certainly do not believe these occurrences are intentional attempts to circumvent the standards that we have established for our archive, we find ourselves in the unenviable position of having to review -- and alter -- our policy regarding such stories. This statement is intended to clarify what we are and are not able to accept in bonding scenes for stories archived at CL. In the future, CL will no longer archive or link to stories that contain bonding scenes which could be as viewed as homoerotic. This includes stories in which the characters remove key articles of clothing or physically "bond" in a manner that implies near-sexual content. Specific examples of this would include (but are not limited to) total nakedness of either/both characters, touching/physical contact over private areas of the body, sensations which could be construed as an orgasm, and mention of implied sexual attraction between characters of the same sex. Similar to the Library policy on adult story content, we are referring to scenes in which the bonding happens "on-camera" and is not simply referred to. As with our other archiving policies, while readers and authors may feel free to write us regarding questions, the Library staff will be responsible for the final interpretation and application of this policy.
Regarding stories archived previous to the posting of this policy statement, the Library does not have sufficient staff at this time to go through and review every single story for questionable content, so readers should not expect the Library to be immediately purged of any and all stories with questionable content. However, should the librarians become aware of an already-archived story with questionable content, we will attempt to review it and make a determination as to whether the story should be removed from our listing. The librarians hope this policy will not result in a barrage of emails from readers requesting us to review numerous stories, and we ask you to be patient and keep in mind that we can only do our best with the limited time and help we have. As always, should a story need to be removed, the author will be notified. The Library requirements for stories we can archive can be found by reading the Story Submission Rules. Authors, if you have questions about whether a scene or story is appropriate for the Library or need clarification on this policy, please feel free to contact us and we will be happy to review the story/scene or answer your questions. We want to thank all authors again for submitting stories to the Library in a responsible and appropriate manner and helping us maintain a great gen archive for The Sentinel fan fiction.
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Sentinel Fanwork Examples
- the fiction of Arnie: Thursday's Child
- Control Issues, series by LitGal
- Susan Foster's GDP stories
- Imperfections by Dasha (dashamte)
- Flesh of My Flesh, Archived version by Caro Dee
- Fluterbev's fiction
Other Fandoms
- tag at AO3: Sentinel/Guide Bond (includes other fandoms)
Meta
- Tops and bottoms and bonding by Jane Eliot (June 2008)