Putting on the gayest lenses I have and annotating gifs of The Sentinel (TV Series, 1996-1999) S1E1 'The Switchman'
Part 0/9
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9
(alternatively, for moblie users: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9)
HULLO
Since hardly anyone posts about the sentinel on tumblr I've annotated a gifset of S1E1 The Switchman with the gayest thoughts I have about it in the hopes it drives some other people insane as well.
This post has no actual gifs in it (horror, I've lied, clickbait, etc. etc.), but contains context and explanations if you've never heard of the show and want some of that.
Also big thanks to Becky for transcribing the pilot back in 1999. I could not hear half of what these guys were saying lol.
Brief context! The Sentinel is an episodic detective buddy-cop show centred around two guys-- Jim Elison (cop) and Blair Sandburg (anthropologist grad student)-- who are partners (oh my god they were partners) that go around solving mysteries and catching bad guys. More info on Fanlore here.
Don't want to spoil anything but the main premise on the show apart from the great banter and the fact that they were roommates (oh my god they were roommates), and very touchy with each other (hence the 27 gifs I have set up just for S1E1 help me), is the idea of Jim being a Sentinel.
That is to say, the guy (after being part of a tribe in Peru in the jungle, long story, watch ep1) has super senses which help him in his detective work, but they are difficult to control and Blair, who happens to be an expert in sentinels, subsequently ends up helping Jim in, essentially, training his senses (and tagging along through his escapades) (hence, becomes a guide of sorts for Jim).
Cue great opportunities to balance out the pairing, gives Jim a chance to rely on Blair, etc. etc.. The opportunity for shipping gets jucier when you start incorporating the sort of spiritual nature the Sentinel (and their guide) has as members of the tribe into it (don't want to spoil anything, feel free to ask though and I can talk about what I know), which has been inspiration for many soul mate aus, bonding aus and fate-driven aus, that sort of thing.
As a disclaimer, I don't know much about tribes, indigenous cultures, or their religions, or spiritual matters, and although the sentinel tv series is closely tied to a presumably fictional tribe in Peru (more discussion about it here), I don't know whether it is a good representation of tribal and/or indigenous culture or their beliefs (probably not), and most if not all of my knowledge surrounding visions, and spiritual planes, like that which Jim seems to keep finding himself in, and tribal obligations, roles and responsibilities and such, is from the show and fandom (fanfics and discussion threads and the like). If anyone does find whatever I say to be inappropriate or offensive, please let me know.
For anyone who has heard of the Sentinel/Guide trope, congrats! I do believe this show has one of the oldest iterations of it in fandom history people can find. Although in the show itself it is mentioned that the idea comes from a monograph of Sir Richard Francis Burton (British explorer, b.1821-d.1890), I do believe such a monograph is fictional, though I haven't researched the subject fully.
(More threads/discussion about the trope here, here and here :D)
In the sentinel (tv series), I believe Blair is the only so-called 'Guide' we come across, and for all intents and purposes does not have any sort of supernatural power. He's just some guy who knows a lot about this stuff, and thus can 'guide' Jim by helping him control his senses. That being said, he perhaps have a sort of spiritual responsibility, as is mentioned in S3E1 'Warriors' (spoilers :D), though it is not mentioned to a great degree.
For tumblrinas who have not encountered the Sentinel/Guide trope, welcome! See the above links to people who can explain it much better than I. Essentially, fandom has taken the above descriptions of Sentinels and Guides and have run away with it in a variety of ways, particularly in transforming the role of Guides.
I think a fun example of this is the Sentinel/Guide aus I've been seeing crop up in danmei (chinese bl novels). Let me know if you'd like to hear more about that. I am raring to go. (There's a list of about 16 different danmei with the trope here, for any fans like me who eat that uppp.)
(For Sherlock Holmes fans interested in the Sentinel/Guide trope, a GREAT get-yourself-into-it is Observations on Sentinels and Guides in Victorian London by RyuuzaKochou, a The Sentinel/Sherlock Holmes (rdj) crossover AU fanfic which features a more omegaversey, sentinels and guides are known au take on the trope.)
You probably don't need all of that context to enjoy the low quality gifs I have made lol, but just in case people were curious and weren't going to watch the show for themselves it is here.
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when you’re a gay lion and you accidentally tried to introduce your lesbian lioness friend to one of her own exes at a gay bar and she goes into the bathroom and bitches you out for not being able to tell her endlessly rotating cast of girlfriends apart which isn’t really fair because first of all they all keep dyeing their hair different colors and second of all she keeps getting back together with different ones at different times and meanwhile you’ve been “single” for like 8 months but are spending a lot of time with one specific guy who works at your old co-op and were going to excitedly tell her about it tonight but now you’ve ruined the whole subject of dating by trying to introduce her to her own ex at a gay bar (which is a watering hole. because you’re lions.)
If your lover lives in Hong Kong and cannot get to Chicago, it will be necessary for you to go to Hong Kong. Perhaps you will spend your life there, and never see Chicago again. And you will, I assure you, as long as space and time divide you from anyone you love, discover a great deal about shipping routes, airlines, earthquake, famine, disease, and war. And you will always know what time it is in Hong Kong, for you love someone who lives there. And love will simply have no choice but to go into battle with space and time and, furthermore, to win.
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idk if I've told this story on here before but one time I was sitting at my desk at work and a random dog I'd never seen before strolled into my office and curled up at my feet. and I was like oh you are adorable but what the fuck?
then a woman knocked on the door and said "oh I'm so sorry he's a therapy dog he's trained to seek out people in severe distress"
and I was like right okay, just getting my whole life drive-by roasted by a dog then
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The straight woman is unsatisfied with straight studio porn. She wants to get off to something in which the actors actually emote and show passion beyond canned moans from the women and, at best, vacant grunts from the men. She turns to gay porn. She knows it's not "for her," but neither was the straight porn, and at least the actors look like they're enjoying themselves. And for a short while she is satiated by Sean Cody et al, but she runs into the same problems she had to begin with. She was not looking at sex but a simulacrum of sex, trapped in Plato's cave. Unsatisfied, she turned to vintage gay porn, harkening to a time when most gay bars still had darkrooms and reliably smelled of piss and Amyl Nitrite. Here was the real thing, in all its animalistic passion. But she still couldn't immerse herself in the fantasy. She wanted the media to engage with her own imagination and meet her half-way, rather than having it spoonfed to her onscreen. She turned to yaoi, with its elongated figures reminiscent of mannerist portraiture, then bara, including hardcore BDSM scenes. But the tactile sensations depicted in the pages didn't do justice to their real life counterparts. She turned deeper into her own imagination, this time reading erotica. No, not the poolside paperbacks sold at Barnes and Noble. The good shit. Why then, was she still not satisfied? She dug deeper, searching for the true meaning of eroticism. She studied the psychoanalysis of Freud, the cultural criticism of Susan Sontag, the feminist poetry of Audre Lorde. She took vacation time and flew to Europe, starting at the caves of Lascaux to explore the human urge to create, then traversed the Camino de Santiago on foot, along the way meeting a 56 year old carpenter from Burgos named Andrés, with whom she had an explosive affair. They both knew it couldn't last, which made them cherish each other's touch all the more. Upon flying home, she gave up. If her search for true eroticism never bore fruit this whole time, why would it now? It would take years before she stumbled upon the answer by pure happenstance: dubstep.
I know you think it’s “feminist” to hate on women who already have self esteem and image issues (through no fault of their own, as a direct result of patriarchy) for doing something to help them cope with their fleeting youth - which may or may not have been stripped from them against their will due to years of depression, abuse, oppression, or whatever else - but the truth is that the freedom to get Botox is actually a right feminists have fought for - whether intentionally or unintentionally. Women used to get thrown away when we outlived our youth and beauty - now we have the option to prolong it and change the way we are perceived and treated by society as a whole. We ALL had to grow up too fast. We ALL have to cope with a childhood that ended too soon. I’m no less a feminist than you are simply because I choose to hold onto my youth and beauty because it helps me feel better about my own loss of innocence. This is all just another excuse to hate on women and tear us down. You’re literally letting the patriarchy win by judging women for their personal choices which harm absolutely no one. Please grow up. Not everyone is conventionally attractive or ages gracefully. Some women can cope with that and some can’t. Both deserve love and respect. Have some decency. You’re not edgy for this. You’re hating just like a man would.
