Moonhunt
| Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Moonhunt |
| Author(s): | Dolimir |
| Date(s): | 2002 |
| Length: | |
| Genre(s): | slash |
| Fandom(s): | Sentinel |
| Relationship(s): | |
| External Links: | online here |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Moonhunt is a Sentinel story by Dolimir. It has a single illo by Frost Doll.
It was first published in Senses of Wonder #2 and is now online.
Reactions and Reviews
I don't know, maybe it's all the sniffing that happens.[1]
What if Blair is a Guide who doesn’t want to be bonded, but Jim wants him anyway? Jim/Blair. Basically I like Jim hunting Blair down and Blair trying stubbornly to get away and not have to be a guide. It’s a thing of mine.[2]
ALPHA JIM!!! XD [3]
A young shaman is caught out in the open during a moonhunt and his life is forever changed.In this AU fic, Sentinels are protectors of mankind. They are known to need Guides to keep them focused and sane, and Guides are expected to fulfill their obligation to bond with a Sentinel.
Wanting to follow his own dreams and goals, Blair has been hiding his guide abilities for years, but in an unlucky(?) twist of fate he encounters a group of Sentinels and his secret is uncovered.[4]
I had a hard time deciding which Dolimir's story to rec. I have quite a few favorites. I chose Moonhunt for Dolimir's take on Shaman!Blair and her interpretation of "THE BOND". "The bond" can make or break a story in my book since it's such a fanon cliché. In this story the bond doesn't totally obliterate Blair which is a good thing. It doesn't make Jim a caveman, also a good thing. Dolimir created an AU universe that's intriguing, coherent and doesn't change too much the limits of the Sentinel world. [5]
I tend to waffle when it comes to bonding AUs, primarily because they often come very close to slavery and/or non-con, both of which are big squicks for me unless they're handled very delicately. Fortunately Dolimir is a great writer, and she approaches her premise with intelligence and care. As a result, what could have been a thinly veiled slave AU instead becomes an interesting metaphor for relationships in general.The titular Moonhunt essentially turns Cascade into a giant singles bar for sentinels and guides. During the hunt, anyone who wants to become a guide walks the streets with the hopes of running into an interested sentinel. Blair isn't interested in being a guide after a nightmarish bonding (read: abusive relationship) he shared with Alex Barnes when he was a teenager, but he inadvertently finds himself outside when the hunt starts and it turns out that not only is he a guide, but he's the Helen of Troy of guides. He damn near starts a riot before getting away, and it doesn't take long for Jim, the alpha sentinel of Cascade (read: big cheese), to track Blair down.
There's a lot of things I like about this story, but I think my favorite aspect is the way that the Sentinel/Guide relationship parallels real-life relationships (albeit highly accelerated) with similar issues about compromise and sharing power. Most importantly, it's clear that authority resides neither with sentinels nor with guides, but is shared, just like in real life. Frankly, if more bonding!fic took this approach, I'd be much more enthused by genre as a whole. In fact, my only problem with this fic is that (say it with me) it's too short. If only she wrote a sequel...[6]
{{Quotation| Why You Should Read This:
The Moonhunt essentially turns Cascade into a giant singles bar for sentinels and guides. During the hunt, anyone who wants to become a guide walks the streets with the hopes of running into an interested sentinel. Blair isn’t interested in being a guide after a nightmarish bonding he shared with Alex Barnes when he was a teenager, but he inadvertently finds himself outside when the hunt starts and it doesn’t take long for Jim, the alpha sentinel of Cascade to track Blair down.
What I like about this fic is that, it’s clear that authority resides neither with sentinels nor with guides, but is shared. To many bonding fics, that I’ve read, can be almost Non Con or bordering on Slavery. A bonding doesn’t always have to be either of those ways. [7]
References
- ^ Merrin Recs: because life is way too short to read bad slash
- ^ Polyfandomrecs: Top Ten 'The Sentinel' AUs , 2007
- ^ from ScarletFBL's Sentinel Recs
- ^ from Whispered Words
- ^ a 2004 rec at Crack Van
- ^ 2007 comments at Epic Recs
- ^ Slash World, 2012