#sentinels and guides

[i-am-as-normal-as-you-are]

Keep thinking about this Payneland Sentinels/Guides + Wing AU idea I had awhile ago SO y'all get to deal with me rambling

Quick info about Sentinels and Guides

~ A Sentinel is a person with enhanced senses (touch, sight, hearing, smelling, and taste), due to the enhanced senses it can become very overwhelming - similar to pulling a muscle, that can happen with their senses being too overstimulated

~ Guides help to ground and calm a Sentinel

~ Together they can help control and focus a Sentinel's abilities as well

Check out this cool Sentinels and Guides info post if you don't know what they are, the person does a great job explaining things

Now rambling time

Edwin is a Sentinel and Charles is a Guide

Overall Sentinels and Guides are rarities here, they were less known about during Edwin's time and were shunned - during Charles' time there was more knowledge on them but they still weren't really accepted by everyone - then modern day there's definitely better acceptance compared to the past + laws/rights protecting them

While Edwin was alive, he didn't have a Guide, but had some control to not get too overwhelmed due to his enhanced senses (or at least not show it around others, otherwise he'd definitely hear about it from his family)

But Hell threw that bit of control and composure out the window with how intense it was.

He thought that with escaping he'd be able to get some reprieve, but he still feels too much, and there's so many new things around him that it takes awhile to attempt adjusting.

Then he stumbles onto Charles and things start to feel a little less, more comfortable and controlled.

When Charles dies, they learn that he can't feel things like before, which they assume is the norm for ghosts. BUT he can feel Edwin perfectly fine, especially after bonding. He only has senses when it regards Edwin, like for example he can smell Edwin's ghostly hair pomade. Plus Charles is able to detect him nearby.

(I hc that a lot of ghost's senses are dulled or seem off compared to when alive, like touching things feel odd or smells seem dulled - so Charles would follow that logic + the special added bonus of properly feeling Edwin and his senses being able to detect Edwin due to being his Guide)

They learn that Edwin has all of his enhanced senses in tact, so for example he's still capable of tasting/eating but doesn't need to eat since he's a ghost so he doesn't see a point in doing it unless if it's necessary for a case (sometimes Edwin wishes he could give that capability to Charles since Charles reminisces and misses food a lot)

During the beginning, they basically had to stay attached at the hip. Anytime they'd tried to do something separately, Edwin would get spikes or zone-out frequently. Edwin hated feeling so useless plus thinking that he's trapped Charles where he won't move on due to Edwin's reliance on him - Charles does enjoy being around Edwin, he also really enjoys that he can feel and sense him, he's now in a world that he can't properly feel things like when alive but then there's Edwin as his beacon, but sometimes he worries that he's just using Edwin to feel something like 'Am I touching him too much, is he uncomfortable and just not saying anything?'

Things improve overtime where they can go do their own thing from time to time, but still just usually default to sticking together. They started taking on cases especially since Edwin's enhanced senses seemed perfect for it.

Also at first they bond and see it as plantonic.

It isn't till Crystal comes around which causes Edwin to have more territorial/protective instincts and jealousy come out regarding Charles + all of the stuff in Port Townsend, that they start to think about taking it further towards it being romantic.

(Bonus: Crystal thinking they're already together cause they constantly touch each other and have been caught cuddling together)

Then combining the wing au idea with the Sentinel/Guide stuff

So here Sentinels and Guides are also born with wings, at times it's used as a way to help easily spot others (So for example, in modern day if an unbonded Sentinel might be having a spike or zone-out, others might seek out the nearest person with wings who is an unbonded Guide to assist the Sentinel)

Edwin has the wings of a Little Owl and Charles has the wings of a Laggar Falcon

When alive, Edwin was to bind his wings and hide them so others wouldn't see them, only able to have them out in private. Then while in Hell, he had to learn the habit of keeping his wings tucked very close to his body or else they would be a huge liability.

Charles keeps his wings out since he finds them cool, but also tries his best to keep them under control. Too many instances of him getting too excited and his wings accidentally knocking something over... his dad wasn't happy.. (His dad hates his wings, but his mom praises how beautiful they are)

After they meet and Edwin binds his wings out of habit, Charles immediately puts a stop to it cause that CAN'T be healthy. But Edwin will still keep them closely tucked to his body.

Edwin has found that when Charles helps him calm down, he quite enjoys when Charles wraps his wings around him to encompass both of them. It helps block things out.

Then it took awhile, mainly due to Edwin not being as open about his wings, where they help preen/groom each other's wings

Edwin was used to making do on his own, while Charles usually had help from his mom. So it started with Charles asking for help, then Charles saw what Edwin was doing and decided that boy needs help (like 'Edwin this spot is an absolute mess cause you can't reach it properly, I'm helping you')

[immortalmuses]

Fanlore Info Dump | Sentinels & Guides

So thanks to the babe @leschanceux and feral encouragement from folx in the Dev Tea Room, I'm going to info dump about my very specific interest: the Sentinels & Guides Trope!

What Even Is the Sentinel/Guide Trope?

The origin of this trope is from a TV Show in the 90s (literally called The Sentinel) where one main character has latent hyper-enhanced senses triggered by being stranded in an extreme situation, revealing that he is a Sentinel. Through the show's narrative, we learn that Sentinels are an evolutionary role in mankind that has existed throughout all historical societies, manifesting in people who are biologically granted abilities to serve as "Protectors" of a community. This means Sentinels have (at least 3, sometimes all 5) exceptionally enhanced senses, which they can dial up or down as the situation calls for it.

But the thing about Sentinels is that their enhanced sense are a double edged blade. Yes, they're powerful and tend to have the advantage in a fight or encounter, but those senses can also present a significant weakness due to what's called 'Zoning' Or 'Zoning Out.' This is when the Sentinel becomes too hyperfocused on one single sense to the detriment of everything else, and is unable to pull themselves back. Zoning can also happen if they have a sense dialed up (like their hearing in order to track something far away) and an unexpected input overwhelms that sense (such as a loud explosion into a heightened sense of hearing). When a Sentinel zones, they are both incredibly physically vulnerable because they're immobile and unresponsive, and they're at risk of never being able to find their way back from their hyperfocus (which would ultimately lead to their death). This is where Guides come in.

Guides themselves do not have any canon enhanced abilities in the original content. In fact, they're technically fanon as a result of one episode in the TV show. But their presence is widely accepted as adopted canon in the Sentinel/Guide trope, and pretty much everyone writes them as the unique "other half" of a Sentinel -- if not uniformly empowered. Guides are the biological companion to Sentinels, possessing the ability to connect with a Sentinel on an astral or spiritual level. The original show used the concept of a "Sp!rit World" and "Sp!rit Animals" alot when relating the Guide character to the Sentinel character, a detail I don't personally adhere to nor promote because of its typical appropriative 90's TV shaman stereotyping. But the trope itself has moved beyond those origins to instead keep the basic concept of a metaphysical "soul-bond" connection between a Sentinel and a Guide. This means that the Guide has the ability to empower and protect the Sentinel's senses from harm. A bonded Sentinel/Guide pair are meant to be inseparable, and are often considered incredibly powerful because the Guide unlocks the potential of the Sentinel.

(Sidenote: As you can tell from my note above, the show had some good stuff, but overall it was kind of poorly done? Low budget, etc etc. The vast majority of the audience keeping the fandom alive were early era slash fans who saw the two main male characters and immediately built up fanlore around them. When the show was cancelled in 1999, many of those fans kept the concepts introduced in it alive by injecting this trope -- with improvements -- into other fandoms. We salute you, Fandom Elders! )

Tell Me More About the Connection Between a Sentinel & a Guide

The Sentinel/Guide bond can be written in a wide variety of ways, often tailored to suit whatever fandom the Trope is being applied to. But there are some universalities. Such as:

Guides can convene with the Sentinel at a metaphysical/transcendental level (sometimes interpreted as a telepathic connection), guiding the Sentinel to focus on or repress one sense over another and fine tuning their abilities in the process.

Sentinels with Guides have notably more powerful senses and better control over them. They are often consider the most powerful iteration of a Sentinel.

Guides can reel back a Sentinel's senses, even shield a sense from sensory input in order to avoid being overwhelmed.

Guides can also pull a zoning Sentinel out of their zone by giving them a lifeline to follow back to the physical world (note, a Guide does not need to be bonded to a Sentinel to accomplish this)

There are more elements of the Sentinel/Guide Pairing that are considered flexible to the trope, often applied in writing and art but not labeled as requirements. Such concepts include:

Sentinels and Guides are generally believed to have been biologically destined for one another. A Guide's scent will be pleasing to a Sentinel, for example. The sound of their voice is naturally calming and grounding.

Some Sentinels and Guides have full-on telepathic bonds, sometimes they just have a merging of souls and a sense for one another. Almost always, and Guide can sense what a Sentinel is feelings unless the Sentinel closes himself off from his Guide.

In some scenarios, Sentinels can let Guides perceive the world through their own heightened senses, so a Guide can experience those same abilities.

Sentinels can be territorial of their Guides, and sometimes just territorial in general. They occasionally get written with overlap in the A/B/O lore, where Sentinels are Alphas and Guides are Omegas. This means that two Sentinels tend to be written as kind of aggressive towards one another.

Sometimes a Sentinel/Guide Bonding includes the "bond bite' (yet another thing that tends to overlap with the A/B/O Dynamics in the writing). These are bites on the neck that seal the bond between Sentinel and Guide and can trigger the psychic/telepathic connection between the pair.

Guides are sometimes treated like coveted prizes in fictional societies. Sometimes the premise will be that there are more Sentinels born than there are Guides, and so Guides becomes highly sought after and sometimes aren't given much autonomy or rights (this has some similarities with the social dynamics of Witches and Familiars in our other verse)

Guides aren't always depicted as the weaker of the pair, but there is sort of an implication there. The concept is that while Guides are not weak, they are an Sentinel's weak spot. A villain to seek to control a Sentinel by taking the Guide hostage, for example.

Again, none of the above details are necessary to depict the Sentinel/Guide trope. They're just additional features I have observed in the concept as it has evolved over the past 20-odd years.

Let's Talk Power Sets

Sentinel Ability Specifics

Hyper-acute Senses of Smell, Hearing, Sight, Taste, and Feel: This means they can sense things completely indiscernible to regular humans, sometimes miles away in different locations or behind seemingly impenetrable barriers. Examples: They can hear the heartbeats of goons in a underground compound they plan to infiltrate; They can smell the diesel of an incoming military vehicle that hasn't even crossed a border control checkpoint; they can feel the heat of a fire that started hundred of hectacres downwind; They can see a termite crawl on the wooden window sill of a cabin on the opposite side of Lake Michigan.

Detect Physiological Responses: This ties in to a Sentinel's acute awareness to detail, in that they can focus their senses on an individual to determine whether they are lying or having a response to something. Examples: they can focus on the sound of a person's heartbeat to catch heartrate spikes as a sign of lying; They can smell the flopsweat on a person who is suddenly nervous; They will see any tics that betray a person's true intentions.

Accompanying enhanced strength/speed/reflexes: This isn't present in all depictions of Sentinels, but does occasionally come up as another way to make Sentinels seem more like superhuman protectors. In addition to their enhanced senses, they also react more quickly, which gives them the appearance of being faster and more agile. Or by shutting down senses that transfer pain, they can push their bodies beyond normal human limits.

Guide Ability Specifics

Grounding a Sentinel: A Guide's attributes are all meant to be a natural focal point for Sentinels, so Guides use their voice and touch to draw a Sentinel's attention onto them, or will have them focus on their smell or their heartbeat to settle and orient their own senses.

Dialing up/down a Sentinel's Senses: The 'Dials' concept is often used in this trope for visualizing how each set of senses can be scaled up or down with the assistance of a Guide. Guides will often instruct Sentinels to think of each sense as having an accompanying dial that goes from 0 to 10. If they dial a sense down to Zero, it can actually disable that sense for a Sentinel entirely, which is dangerous but sometimes necessary to protect a Sentinel from zoning. Equally, a Guide will rarely have a Sentinel dial any sense up to 10 without first considering the risks of overexposure and zoning out.

Empathic Sensitivity: some Guides are also written as empaths that can sense the feelings of those around them, not just their Sentinel. When this is the case, the empathic connection between Guide and Sentinel is often exponentially stronger than anything they can pick up from regular people around them. This often leads to the telepathic bond with the Sentinel as well.

Tap into a Sentinel's Active Senses: Some Guides can perceive things through the eyes/ears/nose of their Sentinel, an experience passed through the telepathic/psychic bond so that Sentinel and Guide can share information seamlessly. Again, your mileage may vary on this element of the trope.

Ok I'm going to end this lengthy post here, but this is my way of documenting beloved fanlore that has managed to survive nearly thirty years as a community driven idea. It's a creative concept spanning media platforms (from analog to online), fan-driven social circles for diverse storylines and topics, and the everchanging nature of time and memory on our collective consciousness. I hope this trope, like others before it, finds a way to live forever.

[lenaboskow]

Ok what is sentinel cause I’ve seen it a few times in fic and mentioned on here and I have no idea what it is 😭

sorry this took so long i went a little deeper than i probably needed to lol.

so i went on a research binge before i started reading the fics and this is what is what i've gathered. feel free to add onto this in the rbs because this is just what i've seen in the 911 fandom and on my research binge but here it goes:

a sentinel is someone who has extremely heightened senses. think being able to tell the difference between brands of spice, able to hear the heartbeat of someone in a different room, able to read the small text on the wall across the room. when they learn to control their senses, they typically will envision "dials" that go 0-10, with 4-5 being human range. certain things can cause them to "spike", and if it gets too bad, they'll "zone" which puts them in a catatonic state, leaving them vulnerable. this happens when the dial is at 10.

depending on the au, sentinels can function to varying degrees without help/being bonded (because just being around a guide can help to some degrees). but they're always better off when bonded to a guide.

guides are basically what they're named. they help guide the sentinel in controlling their senses. a lot of times, they're also empaths. this means they can sort of sense the emotions of people, and encourage them to feel certain emotions. they're most sensitive to their bonded sentinel.

one thing i didn't see mentioned in research binges is the terms "online" vs "offline". a sentinel or guide doesn't always know they're a sentinel or guide. for the first part of their life, they're offline. then, usually in times of stress (eddie usually comes online in afghanistan, for example) or danger (i've seen buck come online when eddie was in danger before), their senses hit a switch and suddenly they're able to use their abilities, coming online. usually i've seen it depicted that other sentinels and guides can sense when this happens within a certain radius.

also, there's s&g centers that help train s&g teams (and even solos that haven't bonded) and care for them when they're sick in a way that regular hospitals wouldn't be able to (they have shielded rooms, i'll get to shields in a moment). usually these centers have what's called an alpha team (the reason i thought it was similar to omegaverse), who are kind of the highest level. they're like, really strong.

shields are another thing sentinels and guides use to control their abilities. it's an ability that effectively "shields" them from the intense senses (i'm probably not explaining this properly but hopefully you get it). they can create them themselves, or they can enter a shielded room at the s&g center if it gets too much. i've seen guides shield unbonded sentinels and vice versa (there's one fic in particular where chris comes online as a guide when buck is struck by lightning (i think) and the alpha sentinel creates a shield over him until eddie and buck can watch over him because he's still a teenager)

now. bonding. in most cases, bonds can technically be created by an intense mutual meditation session. however, this is fandom and there's another obvious way to create a bond. sex. though i have seen one fic where buck and eddie were bonded before getting together, and then when they got together and had sex for the first time it kind of made it deeper? it depends on the author.

that's all i can think of for now, i'm probably missing some things, but feel free to add onto this like i said. i'll edit with any major things i missed, as well. this is now my favorite au for buddie because it works so well with them being firefighters

[alea-says]

To Be Known (in return) - McDanno Sentinel/Guide AU - Secret Santa Gift Fic

The first time Danny saw Steve - he knew the other man was his Guide. Which was a rather inconvenient realization to have while they were both pointing their guns at each other. For more than one reason. Firstly because, well, pointing their guns at at each other. Secondly because Danny doesn't need (doesn't deserve) a Guide. He knows how this goes - he knows what people say behind his back (how they seem to assume his lack of a guide means he can't hear them). He knows how this ends. So he says nothing.

H50 Secret Santa gift fic for @weresilver whose wants included:

McDanno

BAMF!Danny (of any variety)

Sentinel AU/Sentinel!Danny

Asexual character(s) (('Would you love to see ace McDanno fic?" The answer is a vehement yes XD))

(please note, you will need to be logged into the archive to read - because of all the AI bots I don't want to have access to my work. If you can't log-in for any reason and would like access, please let me know and I'll find a way to make it happen)

Also a massive thanks to @goneahead for organising the H50 Secret Santa. *hugs*

[fearlessjones]

‘November 5th’ this, ‘EVERY’ that… Back in my day we had to walk 9 miles uphill both ways in the snow just to ascertain a HINT of acknowledged homoeroticism in any tv show that wasn’t cable! In 1999, UPN’s The Sentinel (of Sentinel/Guide trope fame) had their lead partner characters literally merge souls while liplocked in CPR mode and they ‘no homo’ queerbaited the fans so hard that they spring-boarded us into a new century of online slash fic sharing. 😂 Amidst all the current fandom drama, be grateful for this beautiful era of openness, is all this Fandom Old is saying lol.

[inevitably-johnlocked]

Hi! im just here to make a recommendation!! this fic Give Him A Mask by AStudyInAlgedonics is so incredible!! it's in the TAB verse as well as being sentinel/guide and it is so unique and brilliant and well written, the writing is unbelievable and the concept is so unique i have never read anything like it. i don't know if it will ever be finished but i think its worth reading the bit there is!!!!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/42433596/chapters/106566624#workskin

Give Him a Mask by AStudyInAlgedonics(T, 10,382+ w., 2/6 Ch. || Sentinel / Guide AU || Alternate TAB, Sentinel Sherlock, Guide John, Drug Use, Not Nice Mary, Love Confessions) – Sherlock Holmes doesn't zone. Until he does, coming back from his near-exile, so hard that he strips John Watson's shields and draws him into the Victorian enigma of the Abominable Bride Emelia Ricoletti. But what he claims is a simple experiment in the mind palace proves to be far deeper waters than Sherlock meant to plumb, and if John can't break away from the script Sherlock's set him to, this strange zone may drown them both in the dark of the Reichenbach cauldron...

------

Hi Lovely!

AHH yes, I had this recced to me a long while ago, and I hope it gets finished because I would love to read it myself. It's been on my radar for awhile!! Thank you for bringing attention to it again!

Everyone go give the author some love! <3

[lovethytendytenderly]

Thinking about hockey sentinels and guides but goalies. (I know big surprise — the goalie blog thinking about goalies). But like what does it mean to have all of your senses turned on and zoned in on the puck? Is this better or does it just burn out goalies faster when they can’t unfocus on the puck to deal with the bodies in front of their net? How about generalized empathy when there is a crush of bodies on top of you, opponent and teammate alike? You’re one of the peacekeepers in the room but what about literally with guide powers? How do super senses tolerate the screaming of a crowd or watching from the backup’s seat on the bench?

[sameenbyhat]

Happy WIP Wednesday to you! 2manyhorses epilogue please? Sounds like a really fun fic!! :)

Thank you! I hope it will be.

They check out without difficulty. The clerk at the S&G Specialty Supply is used to people getting ready for camping. Both Sentinels and Guides do better when they spend some time away from people and around plants. Camping is one of the better ways to do that.

[yuukirita]

Here we have the BOARD ALLMIGHTY! Which regroups all of the delicious AUs you may encounter on this blog C:

Some of them have fics in the works by me. Some don't. The ones above do. Those bellow don't

Some of these aren't original- none of them are actually. But at least you have a guide to look to when I post something and you wonder 'what is this about?'

It's mostly cute stuff- and kind of headcanons. Theres a few people that have started their own versions of these AUs inspired by my art/headcanons... And that kind of things is encouraged! Create away! (just pin me if it is inspired by me- I wanna see all of it)

There are other variations of Bee you might see on this blog- But they aren't really AUs- at least not like the ones on this post. It could be art for a fic i'm writing or fanart of someone Else's AU like the examples bellow.

Fic art for "A Bee See Dee" and "A Bee's Last Sound" on AO3

Bee's design varies according to the story he's in- If it's not from an au then it'll be in the tags! I try to tag the fic name if I want to draw a lot of art for it.

Oh and- example of art from someone else's Au. The Bodyguard!B-127 Au from @whalemleck that I LOVE. (someday I'll write something with it...)

Of course I don't draw JUST B-127. You'll find a lot more other Cybertronians here. And my art style changes depending on the days... But I hope this post will Help some of you keep up with the AUs :D I'll update this post when needed.

[dbtrnn]

Interesting

Sentinels and Guides

Sooooo, it has occured to me, that many fans here, (especially some of the younger ones), might not know what is actually behind all the ‘Sentinel and Guide’ fanlore talk. And that’s a shame, honestly, because the concept lends itself to some of the best fanfictions that I have had the pleasure to read in my time.

So I decided to put together a little information.

For an easy and pretty comprehensive overview, please go here: https://infiniteeight8.tumblr.com/post/68075231337/misspaperlilies-said-what-is-this-sentinelguide

The post focuses specifically on the show that birthed the Sentinel and Guide craze among fanfiction writers, and it’s really good.

Now some additional info from me: (p.s., anyone who is versed in the Sentinel/Guide fanlore, please add whatever I missed out on, or correct me if I presented some of the things wrong)

What is a Sentinel?

- A Sentinel (Watchman, Guardian), is a person with all five of his or her senses being hyperactive/acute. They can see, hear, smell, taste and feel everything many times more than a normal human is capable of. And I’m not talking about not needing glasses to read the newspaper that’s laying across the table. I’m saying the Sentinel would be able to read the fineprint on that newspaper from like fifty feet away. They are able to tell how many people are in a different room, from feeling the body warmth these people give off through the stone wall seperating them. They can focus on someone’s heartbeat to determine if they are lying or not. And many more such useful tricks.

However, such strong senses can and often turn out to be, a great liability. The sensory input that the Sentinel has to deal with is simply too much. Imagine being able to hear a pin drop in the apartment across the hall, and then being in a crowded mall and having to suffer through this kind of noise. Some strong smells, in fact ALL strong smells, like peppermint, garlic, or cheese, would become completely repungant to such a sensitive nose. Spicy meals are pretty much a no go for someone whose tastebuds have become oversensitized to such an extreme level. Fabrics that normal people don’t have a problem with, would scratch and irritate the skin of a person with a hyperactive tactile sense. Too bright colors or lights would cause constant headaches.

If one or more senses get aggravated too much, from high input, they can cause ‘Spikes’. Which are usually referred to as sudden pain coming from the area of the sense. Think about it like overusing a certain muscle, to the point where even slightly moving that muscle brings you pain and discomfort.

And that’s not the only drawback.

There are things called: Zone-out’s. Those are moments when the Sentinel becomes so focused on one sense alone, that they subconciously close off all input from their other senses. This leads to the Sentinel getting ‘lost’ in that one sense, falling into a catatonic state (and becoming incredibly vulnerable to attack). The Sentinel can usually not get out of a zone-out alone, as at least one other sense has to be stimulated for the Sentinel to stop focusing on the one that they zoned on.

This is where the Guide comes in.

What is a Guide?

A Guide is a partner to the Sentinel. Someone who watches the Sentinel’s back and helps them control their hyperactive senses.

A Guide will ground the Sentinel, be a calming influence on them, and often the only one who can get the Sentinel out of a zone-out, or ease a particularly bad ‘spike’ (or even prevent spikes from happening.)

There are certain excersizes that a Guide will ‘guide’ their Sentinel through, that will help the Sentinel with gaining and maintaining control over their senses.

A popular concept in this regard is the visualization of ‘dials’.

Picture one of those old stereos, or radios, with the round knobs you had to turn, to increase or reduce volume, bass, etc.

When a Guide helps their Sentinel control their senses, they sit close together and talk them calmly through the process of appointing each sense to a dial. The dial usually has a scale from 0 to 10. The 0 Level, is when the sense shuts off completely. (And that can be very dangerous, too, and is only done in dire situations). The Level 10 on the other hand, is the one that leads to spikes and zone-outs. (Also to be avoided). Levels 4 or 5 are usually appointed as ‘human’ levels, or the ones that are the most neutral and comfortable for a Sentinel. Under the guidance of a Guide, a Sentinel can dial their senses up and down as needed (dial up sight if one needs to spot a sniper hiding somewhere miles away, or dial down hearing so as not to be hindered by loud noises when one needs to focus on something else, for example.)

A Sentinel can learn to use those kinds of dials on their own, but it is very taxing and hard, and often leads to very unpleasant outcomes.

Now, going a bit deeper into the fanlore.

Sentinels and Guides are usually genetically engineered for each other. The Guides scent is pleasant for the Sentinel, their heartbeat grounding, and so on. On the Guide’s side of the spectrum, the Sentinel often offers a sense of protection or ‘shielding’, for the Guide’s more emphathetic nature (though not every story has Empath Guides, it is a popular trope in fandom).

Sentinels and Guides (if compatible) often ‘bond’. These bonds can be platonic, or romantic/sexual in nature, but they usually all share a ‘bonding bite’. Which is a deep bite mark at the nape of the Guide’s (and sometimes the Sentinel’s) neck. And often brings with it a kind of psychic connection between the pair. Though not every story with Sentinels and Guides utilizes such..

There are often also some more spiritual aspects to Sentinels and Guides and bonding, but those are completely dependant on if and how and what the author wants to work into their story.

Needless to say, the possibilities are endless.

While the Sentinel is often presented as more primal, territorial, and possessive, the same things can be and have been attributed to Guides in many fanfics. Again, this aspect is completely up to the author and how they want to write their story.

Okay, I hope I covered most of the bases. Again, if anyone wants to add stuff, please do so!

[texasteaparty]

Hangster Sentinel/guide au

Jake is a Grade A Sentinel who is notoriously self sufficient and continuously denies needing a guide to help stabilize him. He doesn't zone out, doesn't struggle to focus or pull back.

But then he starts to struggle and his best friend Coyote, whose a low level guide, can't help regulate him anymore. But it's getting worse, and he ends up zoning bad one day that took almost an hour to get pulled out of.

So the brass set him up with a slightly high profile guide who was trained by the Navy's best Sentinel Guide bondmates.

Bradley Bradshaw is both infuriating and intriguing and Jake can't help but want to learn as much as he can about the guide. And sure, maybe he doesn't quite get off on the right foot, but he's sure this is his fated mate.

They get into a rhythm, and Jake finally begins to trust Bradley when he helps Jake out of a zone that came outta nowhere.

They bond a year after they meet, and Jake gets to meet Bradley's dad's, the infamous Sentinel Tom "Iceman" Kazansky and his Guide Pete "Maverick" Mitchell.

Basically just , they're so good for one another.

[agentbootyreportingforduty]

this is my ao3 hot take but some tropes just hit different with a specific ship. there’s no science to explain why. it’s just based off pure vibes and the existing lore. like sentinel & guide au’s with mcdanno from hawaii five-0 just match so well. those fics are bangers every single mfing time. no other ship or fics with the same trope compare to me. idk man there’s layers there. thank you for listening to my ted talk 🙂‍↕️

[sweaterkittensahoy]

I know people wanna get mad at "obscure" but it IS nowadays because you have to even know it existed to go looking for it. For a show on a third-tier network that hasn't existed since 2006 and has never streamed because there wasn't a network to throw it up anywhere for a little extra scratch.

Also, it went off the air while I was still in high school, and I graduated in 2001. It's old and obscure.

[eridanus-posessed-microwave]

It has been a long couple of days in one of my fandoms. I’m not naming the fandom. I am not naming the authors involved. I am not naming the fics.

Because it doesn’t matter.

In one of my fandoms I came across a fic on AO3. A quite long fic, marked complete.

I thought it would be nice to settle in and read post Christmas festivities.

I think I ruined the Christmas holidays for multiple people by being the bearer of bad news.

You see, straight up, the ‘author’ of the fic mentions that they used parts of other people’s fics and had the fics in the author notes section.

I assumed they meant they had used OC’s and were inspired by them. Strange they hadn’t linked them properly.

I had not even gotten part way through the first chapter and felt sick.

You see those authors? Are all on a discord server with me. I knew well enough they would not have given permission to anyone to copy and paste entire chunks and chapters of their fics.

Four different authors with four different fics.

So I asked politely on the fic if the ‘author’ had asked permission. I also DM’d the authors with a link and a ‘Have you seen this’.

The authors had not.

The ‘author’ proclaimed they ‘tried for a year’ and couldn’t figure out how to contact them.

Me: *slow blink*

Also me: I know at least two of the authors had links to the discord a year ago. I also know that all four authors answer comments regularly.

I have gone back and forth with them- because I was trying to be gentle. It’s the internet- they could be anywhere from 8 to 100 (I do know their age now, since assuming they were younger was insulting.)

I was trying to gently educate that this isn’t ok to do and to offer ways that they could have contacted the authors (and in future can contact authors- mainly leaving a comment in their fics comment section).

One of the authors that I contacted, when she commented, was basically told that ‘I’ll change that one bit’ ignoring all the rest that was copied and used.

The ‘author’ has taken down a couple of chapters and told us we are harassing, belittling and bashing their fic and it’s our fault it’s having parts taken down.

Keep in mind- they said they wrote 2/3 of the fic. Going through it I was recognising my friends fics as huge parts of it up to the last six chapters (of a 25 chapter, 300+k fic)

Which lead me to think.

Maybe people don’t realise that there are unspoken of rules to writing fanfic and inspiring your fics off of someone else’s.

So maybe we need rules actually written out.

Fanfic writing is a lawless place, but I’m pretty sure everyone is going to agree with these.

Rules for writing fanfiction

1: Being inspired by fics is great. Always try to link the fics to yours- on AO3 there is a data field for this.

2: If you want to use a scene etc and build off of it/go in a different direction, ask the author first. Especially if you plan on using part of their writing. We can’t stop you from writing it but it’s polite. Accept that you may be told no.

3: Do not take entire chapters and copy it word for word. It’s plagiarism. If you are doing it to multiple fics in one story, you will end up with contradictory scenes.

Changing one or two words out of an entire scene or chapter, or changing a single sentence does not make it yours. It is still plagiarism.

4: If you know a character is an OC, ask permission. Accept that you may be told no.

Remember: No answer is not consent.

5: AO3 has a lovely comment function where you can ask things of authors. If the author you want to ask things of has comments turned off, accept that they do not wish to be contacted and accept that no contact does not mean do what you want. No contact means no permission.

6: Consent is sexy. If you want to do anything with someone else’s work, you ask. This includes using any part of their written words, any of their OC’s. This includes podfics and translations and to a certain point, art.

A: Podfic. It’s always good to ask- again acknowledging you may get a no- or be told it is fine so long as it is not done by ai- or uploaded via any place that came make money off of it.

B: Translations. This one is a tricky one. Some authors will be fine and some will not. The issue stems from translations not being word for word and some concepts being lost in translation. I acknowledge it is great to have fics in multiple languages however I also acknowledge that it is a lot of hard work between the translator and the author to ensure there is nothing lost. Not all authors have the bandwidth to do this, especially on fics that can be a few hundred thousand words.

C: Art. Most fic writers are fine with fan art. It’s only here because someone is going to bring it up. If an author has ‘fan art welcome’ go for it and post using the inspired by thing on ao3. If they don’t- ask. It’s likely a yes but everyone has their comfort levels and it’s still polite.

There are probably more but honestly? It’s fanfiction. It’s a lawless place held together with strings and ideas. It’s made on playing in other peoples sandboxes.

Just please, remember that people’s OC’s aren’t public property unless stated otherwise- and don’t blatantly copy other people’s work.

Someone will realise it feels familiar and we are fandoms. We don’t tend to forgive and forget when it comes to the big things.

And yes, it is an odd feeling to write ‘don’t use other authors OC’s without permission’ while also saying it is fine to write established characters that are from various forms of media. The difference is honestly a respect thing. Think of fandoms as sand boxes with a few toys scattered in. Anyone can play with those toys. If someone brings their own toys to play, you don’t just take them without asking.

I’m going to likely never post another tumblr post. I’m asking please don’t go looking for the author or the work. I don’t want them to continue to pull the harassment/bullying/bashing card. Which honestly led me to asking on two discord servers if my responses were bashing anything (no they weren’t. So at least I don’t feel like a bully on top of being the bearer of bad news).

Now it’s time for Eli to take over for a bit. Everyone needs a half feral, under socialised hellhound teen in their head (you don’t want him. He likes stabbing people and eating hearts).

Just remember.

No means no.

Consent is sexy.

The absence of a response is not a yes.

[iphoenixrising]

Hi! I just wanted to send you a message, firstly to wish you a happy new year! And secondly just to say that you’ve been providing incredible and free works of art for nearly a decade (probably longer, but it’s been nearly a decade since I first followed you!!) and I just wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the tireless work you’ve put in. I hope writing has been as much of a joy for you as reading has been for us! Wishing you a wonderful 2025 :))

Hi babe.

Ah, thank-you for the loves! It's so amazing to think you've been with me that long, you know? There's many of the fandom peeps that text me or send me messages that have literally been there since the first Tim Drake fic went out. My daughter was still a baby back then and she's in sixth grade now and is almost as tall as I am tbh. Crazy how much time has passed.

And, you know, the years I haven't been writing much because ah work and other interests as I finally spread out my fanfic wings to devour content rather than create, I still come back here and be amazed at the amount of fics and ficlets and stories and half-baked headcannons people are still finding and enjoying today. In the shitshow the US has become in the last year, it's a welcome feeling to know some of the depressed and down-trodden can find some kind of comfort in ass-kicking vigilantes, Doctors with hobbies, Omegas that can only run from what they need for so long, the real feeling of Welcome Home, the owfucks and attitudes and steamy accents, the birds that can only go forward - never back, the absolute slimy creep Ra's can turn out at the most inopportune moments, the array of named concussions to make them seem a little less bad, infinite cups of coffee and Grape Zestis, the cliffhangers that might never get finished, and a plethora of other things hidden in the dark niches of this blog.

Hopefully, someday I'll go back for my MA in Creative Writing and get out of Tech to do this, or a version of this, in real life. But, until I do, I might as well share just a bit of the next installment of the TimDick (maybe TimDickJay...?) Sentinel/Guide au, right?

Hm, why not? You can check it below the cut ;)

After turning down any attempt of his Sentinel to contact him (i.e. actually duck and dodging said stalkery behavior he is intimately familiar with), it all comes down to the basics less than a month after the disastrous discovery in a hotel room right after he'd played Wayne Enterprises CEO with the likes of Lex Luthor–

who will always and forever be King of the Douche Canoes, seriously

– the breakout at Black Gate is the most all hands on deck that's happened in Gotham in the last year.

Since several members of the Rogue Gallery teamed up to set the explosives, well, every Bat is expected to set-up in Gotham, and Red Robin, for as much as he's stayed the fuck out of their business in the last year, finds himself already in the city for a few meetings with Lucius about next quarter when the night sky outside Wayne Towers lights up with the very familiar symbol.

"Dammit," he breathes out, pretty much aware he could just ignore it. Considering Nightwing, the Red Hood, Batgirl, Black Bat, Robin, and B were all in the city tonight anyway.

(What's one more body between the people of Gotham and the baddies? Well, depends on the body, doesn't it?)

Lucius gives the usual suffering sigh he gives Brucie Wayne when the other mask falls away and leaves the vigilante behind.

"I guess we can pick this up tomorrow," the head of R&D tells him idly, scrolling through text alerts on his phone while Tim visibly reins himself back in to the new line of motherboards going into their medical cradles for military aid.

Tim just stays quiet for once because even though Lucius and Tam both know the big secrets, it's still not something they talk about unless a thorough sweep for bugs has happened in the last thirty minutes.

(Ninjas suck sometimes. #facts)

"It's fine. We still have a few more things we can cross off the list–" Tim starts, jaw tight when he turns away from the familiar symbol, when some things still fucking sting even though he's been doing his level-best to move the fuck forward.

Lucius hums at him and holds out his phone with a tight smile.

The quick update on Gotham's Track the Crime Spree app shows him exactly what's going down, and his truly epic facepalm is the loudest thing in the office.

**

The Batcomm he hacked is on mute, voices in his ear to keep up with the criminals spilling out of Blackgate and swarming the city. Not to mention some of the classics had a hand in making it happen.

The initial plan changes when the Bats start calling dibs on bad guys, throwing out their locations, heading toward the more-than-usual amount of mayhem.

He doesn't throw in on the convo, instead starts picking off the small fries that just happened to be more concerned with escaping and hiding than doing a fair amount of damage the second they hit Gotham proper.

(Really noobs)

He's running through alleyways, easy, fast, and furious to take down the low-level escapees with quick double zip ties for wrists and ankles, not even really working up a sweat.

He leaves the big times to the official night crew, deals with the small fries and enjoys the burn in his thighs as he runs.

Batgirl spots him, yelling out something before he's off again, not interested in some kind of reunion.

(And her low level shields make his back teeth ache with how vulnerable she is, how much she needs someone to strengthen them for her, how he could do it without working too hard... Dammit, the Guide in him is drawn to her with those pesky instincts he's been trying to get under control.)

His first big bad of the night comes in the form of–

Condiment King.

And just. 

This guy.

He really wishes he had the time to enjoy witty banter and a long, drawn-out fight with some heavy hits. Anything to stop him from the low-level buzz on the edge of his shields he knows is Nightwing. He zip ties Buddy Sandler to a light pole and his backpack of condiments to another, he gets one good one before it’s time to move on. 

“Well, I relish the win, but you and the rest are going back to jail. See ya next crime.”

Then he’s off, shooting a grapple, taking off into the night.

Mortimer Kadaver was already kidnapping a victim, and he gets a satisfying crunch when he breaks the guys nose after a look at the torture implements in the back seat of the stolen sedan. The citizen takes off without a look back, completely ignoring him to wait for the police.

He jumps on another stolen car, riding a few blocks at breakneck speed before he punches out the driver’s side window and steers the car himself.

(It’s fun when the low-level thugs don’t know what’s going on. “How are you not driving?!” “Tell the hand in the window to give me the wheel back!”)

He doesn’t get thrown when brains kicks in and the driving thug slams on the brakes, but it’s a close thing.

Instead, he’s trying not to smile when they tumble out the other side of the car on unsteady legs. It’s an easy KO when the city is literally going to shit over the comm in his ear.

Things get real when O calls everyone in on the West side where the bigger, badder B is apparently ready for a round 2 of the “break Batman’s back” challenge.

(It’s the worst possible time for that guy. The flash of memory, of being Dick’s Robin for the short stint, of working with him while Bruce had to train his body again to take on the mantle after Jean Paul had to admit defeat. The best times, the most painful memories. All of it swirling in his chest with the buzzing on the edge of his senses getting sharper, cutting into his shields. All the bullshit stories about True Pairs and here he is, tempting the bond with things like proximity and ass kicking.)

He hits the top of the water tower to check out the sitch, trying to stay out of sight, out of the way of the main family doing their things while Bane is hepped up on venom and swatting at Robin and Black Bat like flies.

No one has to say it while calling out strategy, but it’s a pretty obvious distraction play. Keep the Bats busy while the bulk of baddies get ghost. It’s classic Bane, really.

Since the venom is highly flammable and there’s a lot of vigilantes he doesn’t want to face, he does the next best thing - makes a plan.

It easy to drive KG Beast and the Baffler right up his grill without ever being seen by the Bats as the three big baddies smack into one another on the down swing of some stunning blows. 

A combination of smoke pellets, knockout gas, and bo to the back of the head puts them out for the count in a move even he didn’t think was crazy enough to work.

Slam dunk. It’s buy two and get one free day.

Even better, Black B and Rob were back far enough to miss him through the smoke even though his rebound was a top notch move even for a season vigilante.

Which is why it sucks when Polka-Dot Man actually gets the drop on him because honestly, that guy. He does deliver a stunning back kick to put the B-lister down, but it does make him see double for an important enough second.

“Daw, takin’ alla the fun outta my night, Pretender,” the Red Hood drawls from a rooftop above him, the glint off shiny .45s too bright in his spotty vision. “Nice a’ ya ta actually show the fuck up fer once.”

“Honestly,” he banters back while the woozy sensation fades to a low grade headache, “how many asses in spandex does one city need?”

He gets a chuckle rather than a bullet to the head, so that is most certainly a win.

The drawback of gaining attention of the Red Hood, however, is the lack of duck and dodge that really is part of his new pseud.

Hood literally throws him over a shoulder and dives off the Wallstone Apartments while Red is still reeling from the blow, bellowing out when a meaty arm clamps on the back of his kicking legs in a very subtle warning.

“Leggo!”

“My ass. Stop yer squirming, fucker.”

“How about we compromise. Let me go and you can kick someone else’s ass?”

“Nice try. Like I dunno who yer really running from?”

“I’m fighting crime, not running you asshole!”

“Sure, sure. Ya know what they say. De Nile ain’t just a river in Egypt.”

“I don’t even live here anymore!”

“Oh? Can’t wait ta tell B ya just said that, Timmer.”

“I’m not his responsibility, didn’t you get the memo?”

Wind in his hair over the bad section of bail bondsmen and sleazy villain insurance. The plan forms while Red Hood arches his back to throw them both high in the air before the second grapple *zings* and latches on.

“I said th’ same thing at one time. Ya already know bout that shit, an’ how B didn’t give one fuck ‘bout what I hadda say.”

“The difference is you’re actually part of the fucking family, Jason!”

“Mmhm. Keep onnit, Replacement. M’comm is gettin’ alla this, n’ ya know it.”

“So what? No one’s bothered giving a crap  so far!”

Did he get hit with a truth serum or is this just the concussion talking? 

(R - Randal, Randal the concussion is awful and he should really stop this messy truth shit no one needs to hear.)

“Come off’n it, Timmy. Like ya don’t already know B gotcha tracked within an incha yer life? Think he just gonna let the smart one run off wi’ Shiva fer fuck’s sake?”

Even with Randal being a pain in the ass, Red has a terrifying moment of panic. They know. They all know.

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure, sure. Tell that ta Dickie why dontcha? I ain’t seen ‘in that pissed off inna hot minute.”

“He already knows-“

“Does he really now? Why don’tcha tell ole’ Jace all ‘bout it, hm?”

His voice through the synths sounds very not inviting.

“Randall is a fucker and he needs to lay off,” which has Hood laughing even if he doesn’t know what Red means by any of it.

They land it with a jolt — right in the middle of a brawl.

Which is just about the speed he really needs right now anyway.

Black Bat swings by with a screaming escapee dangling from one hand by his ankle while she smiles under the stitched-up mask and gives him a happy wave. The comm in his ear hasn’t fallen out so he knows the others are spaced out, corralling the others with the help of GCPD.

So, the fight is on a little more than he originally thought.

But still, the burn feels better than the low-grade concussion and the pulsing heat of Sentinels (of his Sentinel), close by. He knows Jason’s shields are fractured, held together by pure stubborn will. He knows Steph is a few blocks down, whooping it up with her shields scarily open for her senses to reach far enough out to track stragglers. B is held together the best of them all, but Dami is developing his senses now and his control is sporadic at best.

Punching the shit out of thugs takes some of the weight off the knowledge, doesn’t completely distract him from his own instincts, but distracts his brain just enough.

Leg sweeps, palm to the nose, kick to the back of the knees, a spinning whirlwind of ass kicking, back-to-back with Hood, spit blood when he takes a hit, clench his teeth when he feels the strain on Nightwing close enough to make his skin burn with it.

His chest is heaving by the time the groaning pile of bodies is down for the count and the red and blue is lighting up the night on their way. He scrambles for a grapple gun while Black B and Hood are finishing up the zip ties. But when he points it the way he wants to go, his finger won’t squeeze the trigger.

“Clean-up’s goin’ all right,” Hood reports, nudging his shoulder with the hand still holding the .45. “Lookin’ like B’s gotch some a’ th’ bomb residue ‘case ya wanna get in on that, nerd.”

“Like you’re much better,” Red rasps out, grapple in his lowered hand trembling, the pounding in his head worse than any concussion.

He knows what this is, the only thing it can be.

“Mmhm. ‘Least I don’t need a fuckin’ engraved invitation ta come back ta the Cave.”

Red’s head whips around, the whiteouts on the mask narrow in a who the fuck are you talking to? kind of way.

Hood crosses his arms over his massive chest because the guy knows when he’s feeding someone a line.

Welp, since everyone already knows apparently.

Right in front of the helmet, Red Robin shoves the grapple back in his belt and deactivates the right gauntlet with his left hand. The helmet cocks to the side in question, but Red moves with fluid grace and speed, even with Randall riding his cape, and slaps his palm on the only bare skin available, on the side of the Red Hood’s neck.

His instincts jump immediately and reach out to the dangerous cracks and crumbles in the Red Hood’s shields, the painful red throbbing of shields crumbling.

He might hear a noise out of the synths, might imagine it because what does Jason Todd owe him really?

But it’s easy, just like putting together the pieces of evidence from a crime scene. The fractured plates protecting Hood are hot to work with, a sharp sting across his brain pan (something that could be from the Pit or be just natural Jason Todd, zombie Sentinel extrodinaire), eases down with the pieces coming together, strengthening, forming a stronger metaphysical shield to give Jason a measure of peace from his own overwhelming senses. It’s a  the relief of relaxing a clenched fist after the fight.

The reason Sentinels need Guides.

(Well, there’s more to it than just that, isn’t there? And Red’s brain can’t help but flinch back to those dreams, to a voice in his ear and hands on him — Guide mapping, his dream Sentinel whispered against skin.)

Red doesn’t manage to stop Hood from sinking to his knees in the aftermath, downed criminals, things on fire, GCPD almost on top them, and Black B nearly vibrating out of her mask next to them, hands hovering and afraid to touch.

Instead, he feels the reverberation of that deep noise coming straight out of the Red Hood’s chest. The relief under the constructed shield thick between them while they stand in the middle of the street.

That growling purr is almost enough, almost enough, to stop him from turning on his heel.

But the gloved hand snags the hem of his cape stops him in his tracks. his eyes blow wide behind the whiteouts and he sees a second of Hood's emblem before his literal savior, Cass, snaps him up and throws him over her shoulder before she takes off.

The night takes a turn for a "what the fuck?" when he and Black B take a few pauses to double team some of the baddies when the Red Hood loses them close to Robinson Park.

Things got more dicey when N spots them taking out Joyful Noise before the sonic blaster destroys yet another pointless sculpture. The comms erupt in a whole lot more noise in the shit show his "duck and cover crime fighting" night has devolved into.

(He's not going to focus on how his head is just a little sore instead of Randall being a right pain in the ass, isn't going to think about the implications here. He can't focus and keep moving through the baddies if he has a sane moment to wonder if it was that easy because he also...Jason-)

They manage to evade the Bats (mostly), ignoring the cajoling and usual back-and-forth once they realize Red Robin is part of crime time.

Cass does him an absolutely solid, driving them to his other, other underground bunker, letting him hang his head against her back while the air hitting them reeks of smoke, burning plastic, and gasoline. He doesn't get the underlying tinge of metal, blood, and fear -- that was from Jason's head while those shields were coming together nicely.

(When he's a full continent away, he'll have him moment of panic, but until then, Cass is totally not addressing the very obvious elephant in the bunker.)

She stays for post-patrol snacks, producing a family-sized box of Cheez-Its and some Alfred sandwiches that are somehow still cold.

They do the usual throwing off sweaty top layers, domino and mask, stare at two episodes of The Office with Zestis from the mini-fridge in the corner.

One-handed signs while they chew, hit a quick patch up job, and the night is finally over.

Cass checks the Batchat to make sure everyone made it out of the city after one hell of a night and gives no reply to the questions about Tim, much to everyone’s dismay.

The next shift of GCPD is coming on, so the city is secured for another day. She produces a backpack and changes into soft leggins, runners, and a hoodie he's pretty sure is Bruce's.

Tim does a good job on her knuckles, and she gives him a kiss on the forehead, makes him promise to stay away from screens and not to sleep for a few hours yet.

After she takes off, he breathes out a long, breath, collapses on the overstuffed couch a minute before going to the lower levels, thinking about catching up on paperwork before he's got to meet with Lucius again. A nice shower, some coffee, and he could do some work, take an actual moment --

("True Pairs, an honest Sentinel and Guide relationship, can include sharing such effects of injuries.")

He shakes the thought out, rolls his neck, and picks up his discarded utility belt, trying to find as many things to divert his attention to as possible.

The door to his lower levels slides silently open under his fingerprint and an intensive alphanumeric code, but some premonition sends a familiar chill down his spine, the vestiges of the old Robin instincts.

[getoed5725]

"Have you seen them?" "Yeah, above. 3rd floor." "Very good. Now, are you willing to turn into a beast for me, Satoru?"

五夏 Sentinel/Guide au: Sentinel Gojo x Guide Geto. Strongest Sentinel & Strongest Guide formed pair.

Context for the art:

- on an undercover mission in a hotel

- they're fully bonded at this point

- the ages can stay like in the fic (below) or not. but i think Gojo will be excited to see his lieutenant/boss/lover/bonded guide looking young again with the hairstyle :>

inspiration: this Chinese Sentinel/Guide Goge fic and the official art for hotel collab: