poll: okay but if I was going to write a sentinel AU...

[green]

I am hyped about writing this, but I need advice.

A

"I'm already bonded. I'm sorry," Kunlun says.

Shen Wei's heart drops. He was sure he'd found his Guide. "Your Sentinel is a very lucky person," he says stiffly.

Kunlun searches his face, then huffs a laugh. "I don't know about that. Look, I can't bond with you, but I can help you..."

B

They bond all over again? Twice over?

And in the future, Zhao Yunlan thinks Shen Wei's first Guide died? And that he'll always hold the first place in his heart? YES ALL THE ANGST?

C

They don't bond officially until Zhao Yunlan gets back from Ye Olde Haixing era, drawing out the pining to near-infinite levels.

Poll #21811 sentinel au

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 25

View Respondents

A, B, or C?

View Answers

A
5 (20.0%)

B
21 (84.0%)

C
3 (12.0%)

something else I will explain in comments
0 (0.0%)

obligatory ticky
11 (44.0%)

Comments

[jo_lasalle]

What's the context for these scenarios? As close to the actual episodes as possible, just with Sentinel added?

(A in particular confuses me. Zhao Yunlan knows Shen Wei is Shen Wei, yes?)

[green]

Ah, I was thinking worldbuilding and didn't give enough context. Yeah, Zhao Yunlan would know he's Shen Wei, but he would already be bonded (in the future) and maybe can't bond again since... it's already happened for him. I'm thinking there's some sexy bonding rite or something.

And yeah, as close to canon as possible, just with added Sentinels and Guides are known.

I'm leaning toward B.

Thank you for making me clarify lol

[jo_lasalle]

I take my vote very seriously! ^_^

I would lean towards B too. It makes Shen Wei keeping Zhao Yunlan in the dark about some things even more serious, but there's good angst and melodrama in that, I think...

I'm not up on the Sentinel setup details, is the bonding primarily about a commitment / ritual , or does it confer abilities? (If the latter, could Zhao Yunlan tell something about Shen Wei when they meet in the present?)

[green]

is the bonding primarily about a commitment / ritual , or does it confer abilities?

It really depends on the author. I've read it both ways. I plan to take full poetic license to write it the most dramatic way possible. :P

[jo_lasalle]

Wooooo! :D

[rheasilvia]

Oooh, I love all of these options, but especially B. All of them make perfect sense to me, but the angst (and ZYL pining) of B seems most appealing to me.

Also, bless you for doing a Sentinel crossover! This fandom needs more classic crossovers. :-)

[green]

I'm so excited about it! I'm definitely leaning toward B because it seems like the thing I would most likely write, knowing myself. lol

A is attractive because it would be a much shorter story. :P

[mecurtin]

I have heard that the Chinese fandom on the other side of the Great Firewall has a lot of 2 Western-fandom-grown tropes:

1. ABO (though without knotting or usually even heats, so I dunno what the attraction even is)

2. Sentinel. I have no other info about how "Sentinel AU" is parsed over there, but the implied universality of this trope is fascinating to me.

[firestar]

...okay but how do you even ABO without those things? o_O

[green]

That is fascinating.

[rheasilvia]

I had no idea the Sentinel series had made it to China. Or is it a different Sentinel, perhaps?

We do still need a Highlander crossover, of course, but I am heartened to see that we are definitely on the way to collecting all the things a proper fandom needs. ;-)

[trobadora]

YES ALL THE ANGST?

YES THIS. :D

[green]

I think so, too. :D

[firestar]

*grabby hands at internet* I LOVE THEM ALL, but in the end went with B, though C with a dose of ZYL thinking SW's first guide died etc etc could also work for me.

Also, yessss, Sentinel crossover fic. *_*

[green]

Yay! Thanks for playing. :D

[bonibaru]

I DID NOT EXPECT THIS CHOICE TO BE SO HARD

CAN YOU JUST WRITE ALL 3 LOL

[green]

AHAHAHA NO

<333

[ranalore]

B gives you both oodles of angst and more opportunities for sexy times, depending on the timeframe in which you're setting your story and the setup of the Guide-Sentinel culture in your world (as someone who was a Sentinel fan when it was airing, I am always fascinated by the AU form that spun out of it, and the different approaches authors choose to take with their worldbuilding and mythos). But I think B would map most closely to ZYL's in-show epiphany of, "Oh, it was always me," while allowing for the depth of a Sentinel-Guide bond that C closes off, and A's scenario seems unlikely to lead to Shen Wei's 10K commitment.

[green]

B gives you both oodles of angst and more opportunities for sexy times this is exactly my thought!

[powwie]

B because ALL THE ANGST
I'm weak when it comes to angsty characters (and a happy ending).

*Getting popcorn*

[green]

\o/

Thanks for playing!

[tinny]

I know nothing about Sentinel, but will read whatever variant you decide to write. All of this sounds delightfully angsty. <3

[green]

I will be sure to make it as accessible as possible to people unfamiliar with the tropes. :D

[demitas]

Look how am I supposed to decide when all these options are A+ fantastic?!!?

[green]

Haha that was my original thought, but I think I'm going with B for maximum oomph.

[demitas]

I look forward to reading it!!

[mecurtin]

oh YAY!!! I can't wait to see how you do this.

[green]

It feels like it's going to be fun to write. :D

[galaxysoup]

I voted B, because heck yes to all the angst, but there's a lot of potential to C as well - ZYL trying to help Shen Wei even though they're not bonded, and Shen Wei getting through overloads (I've forgotten the Sentinel-specific term - aaah it's been too long!!) on pure stubbornness and the hope that he'll only have to make it until the timeloop... actually, that last one works for option B too, now that I think about it!

Oh wow now I'm really excited for this crossover. :D Guardian has such old-school fandom vibes, I love the idea of bringing back old-school fandoms for crossovers!

[green]

I've forgotten the Sentinel-specific term

Zones, I think. I'll need to do some research. :D

Option B is gonna be it, for sure.

Guardian has such old-school fandom vibes Yes! and it also reminds me of Torchwood a lot, a fandom I wasn't really in but read extensively for.

[xparrot]

B all the way (okay I have a thing about Zhao Yunlan unknowingly being jealous/angsty about himself) and also !!!! yessssssss!!!! The show is pretty much already a 90s action show with a 10x modifier to the subtext, this is perfect...

[green]

The show is pretty much already a 90s action show with a 10x modifier to the subtext

YES THIS

[kimboo_york]

The show is pretty much already a 90s action show with a 10x modifier to the subtext, this is perfect...

OMG how did I not realize this before? 1000% accurate!!!

[xparrot]

It's perfect because I don't know that I'd have the patience to sit through all the nonsense of '90s cop TV these days -- but Guardian's ratio of plot nonsense to intense character feels is so much higher!

[kimboo_york]

"B" is clearly the winner but I love love love the angsty possibilities and the chance of MUCH DRAMA PLOT of "A" so that's my vote. That said, I'd be happy with any of them! :)

[green]

Thank you for playing! A had potential but B is going to be the plot.

*bounces*

[mekare]

Imagine me hyperventilating at the thought of a sentinel AU in Guardian.

[green]

\o/ \o/ \o/

[naye]

SENTINEL AU OH MY HEART

All options are fabulous!

But also: SENTINEL. ♥♥♥ YES.

[green]

:DDDD

I'm so glad people are excited!