At the Closing of the Day by Julia Stamford (NC-17)

[hafren.livejournal.com]

Fandom: Blakes 7
Pairing: Blake/Avon
Author on LJ: yes, but not under that name
Author Website: ditto
Why this must be read:

Oh dear, Executrix won't be pleased… this is angst in spades. A lot of B7 fans see something between Blake and Avon, but whether it's consummated attraction or unresolved sexual tension is another matter. If, within the timespan of the series, you write it consummated and happy, you have a problem – namely how do you then get them to the disastrous final episode of the canon, in which they fatally misread each other's signals as they have so often done before? This is one of the best solutions I've seen: they come together but their basic wariness of each other, born of their constant power-skirmishes, causes Avon to be very unsure of Blake's motives and Blake to catastrophically misread Avon's. In a really rather brilliant end, it's made clear that something probably could be salvaged from the mess, but not, crucially, trust. You know when a story like this has really worked when you re-read and hear the hidden resonances – like this bit from the happy night before the sad morning:

Blake looked down into the sloe eyes, and saw an invitation there that swept away his anger. No, not invitation - hunger.
And knew that Avon was one of the rare ones, the ones who wanted it both ways, who wanted to have it all.
Looking down at dark hair contrasting with white skin, eyes fifteen fathoms deep, a not quite human beauty, he remembered old tales and said, "And will I find that seven years have gone by in the morning, you damned fairy changeling?"
Avon threw back his head and laughed at the comparison. "Nobody's ever said that to me in bed before. Still, I suppose it's an improvement on 'Will you respect me in the morning?'."

Alas, nobody will respect anybody in the morning…

At the Closing of the Day

Comments

[snowgrouse.livejournal.com]

*Sigh* I do love this one. I have a perverse liking for stories where Blake's so consumed and obsessed that he becomes a right bastard when he doesn't get Avon. *sigh* Now if only the writer would put up more of her fic online, IMHO it's some of the best B7 slash out there. Few writers can combine good characterisation, dialogue *and* sizzlingly hot sex the way she does.

[hafren.livejournal.com]

Amen to that, but she's a devotee of the dead rainforest product, isn't she:)

[snowgrouse.livejournal.com]

I know, that's why I said it:). Ah well, I guess you can keep zines selling with a such high level of writing. I'd praise and rec her more if more of her stuff was online, but there you go...