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crack_van2004-04-11 10:30 am
hafren.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2004-04-11 10:30 am
Cheap At Any Price by Nicola Mody: gen
Fandom: Blakes 7
Pairing: Vila and an OFC, but nothing explicit
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
vilakins
Author Website http://www.farsight.net.nz/
Why this must be read:
Nico, as usual, is concentrating on Vila, the crew's willing thief and semi-willing jester, who has no pain threshold to speak of and, by season 4, not much self-esteem either. This is an AU which splits from canon after the grim episode "Orbit", in which Avon nearly kills him. Reasoning that we cannot trust those we have betrayed, Avon then compounds the injury by selling Vila to some canonical slavers. But things work out much better than Vila could have hoped. The trouble is that by now he has no hope, no belief that anything can go right for him, and he needs to have his self-esteem and trust in others slowly built up again.
What I really like is not just how well she does Vila – that's a given, in her case – but how well she does season 4 Avon. Too many B7 writers, because they like the guy, don't admit that S4 Avon is basically a bastard. True, he is damaged, he has excuses and there's still a core of good there. But to quote Bomber from Auf Wiedersehen Pet, when someone remarked that Oz was all right under the surface, it's what's on top of it that people have to deal with. This story isn't afraid to show that, as here when Vila tries to leave. Avon does, as we'll see later, have inner misgivings about what he's doing, but he still does it:
“You’re deserting me?” Avon purred.
“Oh, no...not really...” That would count as betrayal, wouldn’t it? He knew about Avon and betrayal. “Early retirement?”
“So young?” Avon put a hand against the wall, between Vila and the door.
“Career change then.” Vila said, edging away.
Avon put his other hand on the wall, boxing Vila in, and leaned towards him.
Vila closed his eyes, feeling faint. “Oh now look, you don’t need me. Better off without me really, I only annoy you all...” No, it wasn’t meant to be like this. He was going to stand up for himself for once. He straightened up and looked Avon in the eyes, trying not to quail. “There’s not much point any more, is there? I can’t trust you. You’ve made that quite clear.”
“Well, now.” Avon stood back.
Encouraged, Vila went on, “It’s like you said—I’m not safe with you. And neither is anyone else.”
Avon hit him so hard, his head cracked against the wall and he fell to the floor, where he cowered, his arms over his face. Avon stooped and lifted him by the front of his tunic, and hit him again. Dazed, Vila went limp. Avon was drawing his fist back for a third blow when a look of contempt crossed his face and he shoved the thief through the doorway. “Get out before I do something I might regret.”
Cheap At Any Price
Pairing: Vila and an OFC, but nothing explicit
Author on LJ:
vilakinsAuthor Website http://www.farsight.net.nz/
Why this must be read:
Nico, as usual, is concentrating on Vila, the crew's willing thief and semi-willing jester, who has no pain threshold to speak of and, by season 4, not much self-esteem either. This is an AU which splits from canon after the grim episode "Orbit", in which Avon nearly kills him. Reasoning that we cannot trust those we have betrayed, Avon then compounds the injury by selling Vila to some canonical slavers. But things work out much better than Vila could have hoped. The trouble is that by now he has no hope, no belief that anything can go right for him, and he needs to have his self-esteem and trust in others slowly built up again.
What I really like is not just how well she does Vila – that's a given, in her case – but how well she does season 4 Avon. Too many B7 writers, because they like the guy, don't admit that S4 Avon is basically a bastard. True, he is damaged, he has excuses and there's still a core of good there. But to quote Bomber from Auf Wiedersehen Pet, when someone remarked that Oz was all right under the surface, it's what's on top of it that people have to deal with. This story isn't afraid to show that, as here when Vila tries to leave. Avon does, as we'll see later, have inner misgivings about what he's doing, but he still does it:
“You’re deserting me?” Avon purred.
“Oh, no...not really...” That would count as betrayal, wouldn’t it? He knew about Avon and betrayal. “Early retirement?”
“So young?” Avon put a hand against the wall, between Vila and the door.
“Career change then.” Vila said, edging away.
Avon put his other hand on the wall, boxing Vila in, and leaned towards him.
Vila closed his eyes, feeling faint. “Oh now look, you don’t need me. Better off without me really, I only annoy you all...” No, it wasn’t meant to be like this. He was going to stand up for himself for once. He straightened up and looked Avon in the eyes, trying not to quail. “There’s not much point any more, is there? I can’t trust you. You’ve made that quite clear.”
“Well, now.” Avon stood back.
Encouraged, Vila went on, “It’s like you said—I’m not safe with you. And neither is anyone else.”
Avon hit him so hard, his head cracked against the wall and he fell to the floor, where he cowered, his arms over his face. Avon stooped and lifted him by the front of his tunic, and hit him again. Dazed, Vila went limp. Avon was drawing his fist back for a third blow when a look of contempt crossed his face and he shoved the thief through the doorway. “Get out before I do something I might regret.”
Cheap At Any Price
no subject
And yes, I'm *so* glad that there is fic that isn't afraid to show that Avon really *was* a right bastard in S4. Considering that Avon is the most popular character amongst B7 fans, people forgive him even when he does the most horrible things! I like him as a character but I'd never, ever forgive him for Malodaar. Or snogging Servalan in Death Watch...