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Title: Tunnel Visions Pairing: Mostly none, but there's one incidence of... Blake/Jenna Blake/Avon. Sort of. Author on LJ: ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif) kernezeldaAuthor Website: None I know of. Why this must be read: These two fandoms, you may have noticed, get crossed over a lot, by very good authors who write frequntly in both. This really isn't a coincidence, but a natural concequence of the fact that they have a lot in common, and share a core sensibility of the universe being a bleak and unforgiving place more often than not. Kernezelda, a gifted author in both fandoms, has here demonstrated just how well these two cosmoses can be married: she takes a bittered, PGP-era Blake who has lost nearly everything, and shows him and us just how much more he has to lose - by throwing him down a wormhole. What then unfolds is a dazzling series of vigneittes, detailing the various fates in store for Blake, and in turn telling us much more about Blake than the universe itself. In fact, knowledge of the Farscape universe is not at all required to enjoy this fic. Although it adds a layer of richness to know each of the episodes being homaged/recreated, the setting really serves here the same purpose it served in the early seasons of Farscape itself: a large, bewildering, frightening place for our protagonist to get lost in, suffer trials and confusion, and more often than not get himself killed. Or worse. ( 'You are Human,' she purrs, and a hand blurs toward him. )Follow Roj Blake down the rabbit hole, and be sure to tell Kerne how you felt about what you found. Tunnel Visions | | |
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Hello again! I'm Liza, and you may or may not remember me from my stint back in June 2005, driving the van for that other set of escaped prisoners who act like they're on Jerry Springer: Farscape. But I'm going back to my roots this month, and giving you the tour of one of my first fandoms - Blakes7.
I'm a big lover of Vila, Cally, AI's, angst, Gen, and unhappy PGPs, so expect a lot of those, but I'm not above slash, crackfic, or happy endings, so there should be something for everybody. I've also limited myself to one fic per author (no really I mean it this time), so while you're going to see a lot of familiar names, you should be introduced to a couple new ones, too.
Enough about me. Time to teleport!Fandom: BLAKES7 Pairing: open to interpretation, but vague suggestions of Avon/Blake Author on LJ: astrogirl2Author Website: Maximum VerbosityWhy this must be read: Besides the fact that it's Astrogirl, besides the fact that it's Astrogirl doing Avon, and besides the fact that it was a product of the Multi-Fandom Lyric Wheel (a little known and much underrated ficathon collecting some amazing stuff), this is I think one of the best examples I've ever seen in my life of the "faux history" fic sub-genre. Astro here perfectly assumes the position of some nameless, faceless Federation Historian, progressing through the last year of Blake's Rebellion, offering theories and questions about the motivations of that most enigmatic of historical figures, Kerr Avon. ( He can almost fancy the idea of himself, defiant at the end, standing, perhaps, over a pile of Federation bodies and smiling at approaching annihilation and the satisfactory completion of his plans. )How can you resist irony like that? This is a tightly woven, satisfying read, spoilery as all hell. Enjoy, and don't forget to feed the author. Excerpts from Chapter 23 of "Blake's Rebels: A Historical Perspective", with Interludes | | |
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Fandom: BLAKE'S 7
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: lazy_neutrino
Author Website: none
Why this must be read:
And now for something completely different for the last day of the month (which caught me unawares).
This is pure comedy, written for the Jarriere ficathon, and from his point of view. Jarriere is telling his story to the reader over a drink or two. We were on the road again, inspecting a bunch of travelling entertainers. That’s what I spent my time doing in those days, inspecting entertainers. You can scoff. Security was very tight. You never knew if this bunch or the next would turn out to be the bunch of lunatic terrorists who blew up the President. I suspect they were. Jarriere is dumped in a vat of ice-cream during a failed assassination attempt, and that's just the start. What do the circus performers have to hide from the President? I just want to know which one Tarrant was: the Bearded Lady, the Strongest Man in the Galaxy, or the Tarsian Warg-Strangler. The Neapolitan Affair | | |
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Fandom: BLAKE'S 7
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: hafren
Author Website: Hafren's Gloomy Patch of the Forest
Why this must be read:
Well-named, this story is all about trust. Set between Voice from the Past and Star One, it explores the trust, or sometimes the lack thereof, between Blake and his crew.
Blake has a series of nightmares about a dog, a wolf, and a child, and tries to find out the meaning behind them. In the meantime, Avon and Cally are still angry about Blake telling Vila that they were plotting against him, Blake finds out what Avon and Vila were up to at Freedom City, trust is given, rewarded, denied, and Blake continues to have the dreams, each time different.
Cally suggests he continue the therapy, but Blake refuses. She stayed quiet, and he said into the silence, "What if I find things I don't want to know?"
"Things they did to you?"
"No," he said miserably. "Things I might have done. In the dream, sometimes, there's a child. Cally, you know what I was accused of. Falsely, as far as I know, but then my memory isn't reliable, is it? And I'm not sure I want it to be. I'd hate to think I was.... that I could have hurt someone harmless."
"I'm no expert," she said slowly, "but I don't think dreams work like that. They aren't so literal; they're more like images, metaphors for things that worry you. What else was in it?"
"A wolf. Well, it started out as a dog but it turned into a wolf." In the end, Blake works out the meaning of the dream on his own, but even though he is reassured, the last line, from someone else, is a killer. Trust | | |
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Fandom: BLAKE'S 7
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: shimere277
Author Website: none, but you can find many of her stories in the ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif) b7fic memories, under by Shimere277.
Why this must be read:
This is a taut and brilliant analysis of Vila and Avon's relationship, as they take shelter in a hunting shack on Gauda Prime. Vila, to whom feeling is all, tries to get Avon to acknowledge that he cares, and Avon, all cutting logic, cannot grasp why Vila seems to, well, care about being cared about. Vila’s head spun with the obscurity of Avon’s logic. To him, it wasn’t about logic, or evaluations, or anything of the sort. You take care of your friends; that’s all. “Well, bloody being tortured for my sake seems like a foolish gesture, if you ask me.”
“I would never betray an ally to an enemy.”
“It proves you care.”
“I wouldn’t betray Tynus. I certainly didn’t care about him. I considered his friendship a simple business expedient.” Vila and Avon are perfectly in character, and the story captures the whole feel of season 4 very well indeed. A Man and His Dog | | |
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Fandom: BLAKE'S 7
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: astrogirl2
Author Website: Betty Ragan's Home Page, but Betty's on-line B7 stories are in the Hermit Library
Why this must be read:
Hi there, I'm driving the van for Blake's 7 for February; sorry I took so long to get it started.
I thought I'd rec LJ fiction this month. First up is this thoughtful and moving story written for the B7 crackficathon. It isn't crackfic at all however, with its insight into Cally and her isolation among aliens which hits her hard when her moondisc dies. She wondered what had killed it. Perhaps conditions on the ship simply weren't suited to sustain it in the long term, though she had sensed no discomfort from it, even at the end. Perhaps it had simply reached the end of its allotted span. Or perhaps it had never been meant to live without the touch of others of its kind and had faded away because there was nothing left to keep it alive.
She carefully fed the remains into the recycler, emptied the sandbox, packed away the lamp. Then she sat down on the bed, staring at nothing until the nothing become blurred with moisture.
How odd, she thought, after all the deaths she'd seen, to finally cry over a plant. When the crew realise how much the loss has affected her, they decide to help. Each tries to do so in their own way and with little real understanding of Cally herself. In fact, as kalypso_v says in a comment, they offer themselves in a way, so this poignant and lovely story tells us something of them too. Zoosemiotics | | |
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Fandom: BLAKE'S 7 Pairing: Blake/Avon Author on LJ: alinewritesAuthor Website: Aline's fanfictionWhy this must be read: Sometimes what you need is just a good old dose of unashamedly porny and fluffy PWP. Now, normally I won't buy the characters as being this cheerful, but this fic has a lovely lightness to it, where the cheerfulness doesn't seem forced like it could so easily be, given the fandom. Blake and Avon are still struggling, and that just makes for hot, rough sex in this case. Oh, and it has The Hooker Boots(TM). Hooker Boot Sex. Yes. Perfect for a bit of light-hearted smut, really. A Cure For Boredom | | |
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Fandom: BLAKE'S 7 Pairing: Blake/Avon Author on LJ: mfaeglasgowAuthor Website: Oblique PublicationsWhy this must be read: C'mon, you really didn't think you'd get away with no Oblique while I'm in charge? This particular story returned to haunt me today because I was in the mood for a dark, manipulative Blake, his morals rather ambiguous when faced with the temptation that is Avon. Naked, sleeping and seemingly vulnerable Avon. True to the Oblique spirit, it's dark and angsty and very neatly written--you can pretty much count on absorbing, rich prose and so-hot-it-hurts sex with M. Fae. You can feel the actual heat and dampness of the night when reading, I swear. Wonderful tactile details complete the sense of being there, watching Blake's fall. *fans self* Heatstroke (PDF file.) | | |
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Fandom: BLAKE'S 7 Pairing: Blake/Avon, Blake/Inga, hints at other stuff Author on LJ: toft_froggyAuthor Website: The Rope CoilWhy this must be read: Toft is probably the best new writer B7 fandom has gained in the best few years. This recent fic is a good example of her gorgeous, evocative writing style--the otherworldly setting really makes her work shine. It's a series of visions and dreams in the possible afterlife, but true to the spirit of B7, certain characters manage to make a heaven into hell and vice versa. And yet, this haven of dream-logic and poetry is not either. Hope and desperation both dwell here and time bends back on itself. I particularily like the subtle changes in writing style between different incarnations of the same characters, but to give you more detail would be spoiling. And yeah, the characters are just right--Blake being his stubborn self and hoping against all odds, Avon as cynical as ever, and Jenna and Vila ring true as well. This is really the fanfic form of chocolate, best savoured slowly and indulgently. Haven | | |
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Fandom: BLAKE'S 7 Pairing: None, but B/A if you wish to see it;) Author on LJ: sallymnAuthor Website: ? Why this must be read: This is another seasonal offering from Sally--and it's just as lovely as the previous one recced. Here the narration is through Vila--oh, poor sweet Vila, and boy, is he miserable, post-Gauda Prime. Yet, there's still a faint glimmer of hope, even within the perfectly believeable bleakness and darkness that B7 is made of. This story is another gem, not to be missed. The characterisation is perfect again--just look at Vila's thoughts and the results of what happens with the attempts to resuscitate Blake... completely believeable, and not sinking into mush or OTT fluffy joy as many other PGP stories. The characters are the same grumpy sods you originally fell in love with, and nothing is easy or cheap. I more or less just wanted to give everyone a big damn cuddle after reading this. So, yeah. Read it. G'wan. It'll make you smile:). Part 1Part 2 | | |
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Fandom: BLAKE'S 7 Pairing: none, but one might see the inevitable B/A Author on LJ: sallymnAuthor Website: ? Why this must be read: It's a bit late, but the first of Sally's seasonal stories is worth a mention. Oh yes. Beautiful prose and spot-on characterisation, as usual. This time, it's Avon being visited by ghosts of Christmases past and present. This one is chilling, funny and hopeful at the same time--quite a feat, knowing the characters and their natures. It's also a damn good read, whatever your preference, just because Sally has the knack of going deep inside the characters whilst still remaining true to the tone of the show itself. Dude, this is the smut fan reccing gen, you know it's got to be good;). The emotional kick is the thing, I guess, and Sally masters it perfectly, even in her early works:). Part 1Part 2Part 3 | | |
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Fandom: BLAKES 7
Pairing: Avon/Vila (or Vila/Avon?)
Author on LJ: executrix
Author Website: Executrix's Plotless Lagomorph Asylum Why this must be read: Encore Executrix???? Will you tell me (maybe. I doubt anyone does actually...). See, it took me a while last time to decide which of her fics I'd rec and this one came close behind the previous one (Coals of Fire). The pairing changes -well, not that Avon wouldn't like to have Blake but his feelings aren't reciprocated and Avon's wise enough... (I really think, most of the times that Avon's feelings for Blake, if you think it's love, are absolutely not reciprocated. But maybe that's just me). I like this story; I like the brisk pace, the writing and Vila's POV is amazingly good. And it makes me happy. No exerpt because it's short, but go read it! Chance and chemistry
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Fandom: BLAKES 7
Pairing: Blake/Avon (implied) - Blake/Soolin
Author on LJ: rileyc
Author website: none
Why this must be read
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It's a PGP story -- I love PGP stories. It's a sad, bittersweet story -- I love sad bittersweet stories. It's a story about a dead man who's been loved and didn't know. It's about a grieving survivor who can't overcome the loss (but found a new crew). AND it's a hopeful story, which is GOOD.
It's well-written, heart-breaking but the last ten lines of the epilogue will make you smile with relief.
( exerpt... )
In this lonely place | | |
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Fandom: BLAKES 7 Pairing: BLAKE/AVON, Blake/OMC Author on LJ: executrixAuthor Website:Executrix's Plotless Lagomorph Asylum Why this must be read: THIS isn't a conventional B7 story. No. It's one of my favourites though. Maybe it's not Executrix's best story? I don't know. To me, it's an amazing story. THIS is Blake/Avon at their finest. An established relationship (more established B/A, please) with a believable Avon who *doesn't* border psychopathic, a very good charismatic Blake who gets more than he bargained for, two strong characters who sound alive and deal with their relationship as smartly as they can. And cheating. How does Avon react to cheating? Well, you'll have to go and read it! Because believe me, it's a (too short) nice change! Coals of firePS: a few formatting problems but nothing that bothered me. | | |
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Fandom: BLAKES 7 Pairing: None? (BLAKE/AVON?) Author on LJ: none Author Website: None Why this must be read: I know. I promised Slash and this is Gen again. Gen *tries to keep a straight face*. Of course. Like... "I'm sorry," Avon said.
"As am I." Blake put a hand over Avon's where it still gripped his arm.
"Neither one of us has come through this unscarred."
"I looked for you. I was always looking for you. None of the rest of it
mattered."
Blake nodded. "I know that. Once I got over my bewilderment and sense of
betrayal about Terminal, I understood that. What I said on the Liberator
that day was true. I always trusted you. I still trust you." Just Gen then. Hum. Very well written, PGP and Avon suffers beautifully -of course. Blake is perfect as a nurse and they obviously intend to leave the world behind and build their whole little love shack shelter. Avon and Blake hiding their healing love friendship from prying eyes. It's very clear that no one else, nothing else (Blake sounds very blasé about the Revolution) matters. How do I know? Well, go, read... Rogues | | |
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Fandom: BLAKES 7
Pairing: None
Author on LJ: rileyc
Author Website: None
Why this must be read:
Two stories, the first one is more like a vignette and the second, much longer, starts where the other left us and takes us along for a very enjoyable ride with our favourite heroes -all of them.
So, after Malodaar Vila decides to leave (Yay him!) so of course nothing happens as it does in the show. And as he's brooding in a bar a slightly battered rebel comes to him and... guess what??? It all goes from there.
Those who know the author have no doubt that she's a great writer. She also writes good interesting believable plots. The story's gen but we're not that far from slash -- Avon and Blake do have strong feelings for each other --but the others are here too -- a wary Tarrant and a very enjoyable Vila. Oh and some guest stars too. Almost everyone. And the end is *so* satisfying!
An exerpt?
"Where're we going?" Vila asked, climbing inside.
"My base. It's not too far," Blake said, climbing behind the controls.
"Your base? Sounds like you've made some progress." Vila also hoped he'd had some flying lessons. "You know, I never did find out what this place is called," he commented, looking out the window to watch the lights of the town fade, replaced by a seemingly endless vista of trees.
"It's called Gauda Prime." Blake shot him a look, a smile playing at his eyes and mouth. "Welcome back to the revolution, Vila."
Vila chose not to reply with the rude remark that leapt to his lips.
Go, read, it's worth it!
Reviewing the situation and Instant Karma | | |
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Hi, it's me again, driving the B7 van for December. Expect slash, gen and a lot of Blake/Avon. Fasten your seat belts, we're starting with something light and funny and HOT. Fandom: BLAKES 7 Pairing: BLAKE/AVON Author on LJ: none Author Website: None Why this must be read: Because it's delicious. Like cream, sorry, trifle. Delicious and nice. Witty. Avon is wearing the infamous red leather suit (and he's not very happy with it) and Blake is acting strangely -well more strangely than usual and there's something unexpected happening with a bowl full of trifle. Just one very short exerpt (I don't want to spoil the fun) The tech did a double take. Was that smile Blake's attempt at being seductive? The computer expert shook his head in bemusement. No, he must be mistaken. He was convinced that Blake's libido had been surgically removed at birth and replaced by a halo. Cream | | |
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And with this one last fanfare, I'll bid you adieu. Fandom: BLAKES 7 Pairing: none Author on LJ: vilakinsAuthor Website: unknown Why this must be read:[Disclaimer: I'm mentioned in the author's notes, so I'm not entirely an uninvolved party. However, as my involvement was limited to reading it and liking it, I think I'm still a neutral one, and it's still great fic.] This is another small character study, taking up the implications of canon where canon itself failed to go. Bridging Redemption and Shadow, it picks up on Orac's self-serving trickery, the technology of his carrier waves, and Cally's character background, very neatly. Vila becomes suspicious of a plothole dangerous inconsistency in Orac's story and Cally takes steps to solve the problem. Now, there is a subset of fandom that's rather anti-Orac, and not without some reason. I'm not one of them; I love the little plexiglass monster with his Christmas lights. But it's still rewarding to see him get his comeuppance, for once. To come over all pretentious for a moment, if Orac is the trickster character, the unreliable voice of fate in computer form, then here we have Cally as the show's hand of justice taking him in line, even if only temporarily, as later events show. To be a little less pretentious, but only a little, there aren't many stories that actually pick up on this specific aspect of Cally's training, perhaps because the series itself never explained what exactly she meant by it or how she used it, and only a few more that develop or use her alienness, so this is a rare demonstration of both her technical skills and her alien ones, and it's all the more rewarding as both anticipation and payback for the events of "Shadow". ( 'I am a telepath, Orac. Are you aware of that?' )Oracle | | |
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Fandom: BLAKES 7 Pairing: none Author on LJ: snowgrouseAuthor Website: unknown Why this must be read:Oh, this one is so beautifully sparkly and lush, as per Snowgrouse's prose standards. It's not just Cally as competent fighter, but as archetypal warrior; not just Cally as attractive alien telepath, but as truly alien, invasive, probing, threatening. An electric little story, beautiful stylized and seen through a haze of red, from Avon's POV. Dakini | | |
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Okay, now for a few little sparkly bursts of fic in the night sky to send you all on your way. Fandom: BLAKES 7 Pairing: none Author on LJ: hafrenAuthor Website: unknown Why this must be read:Fresh from the loss of her sister, her home, her entire people, Cally finds an unexpected comfort and understanding. I shan't spoil it, it's such a short and sweet little appetizer of fic. This follows up on an implication of early canon that very few have played with, and which would have been fascinating had the show ever attempted to use it. Oddly, the character it rounds out isn't Cally at all, but an even more underused and overlooked character. "She woke to the ache of absence..." | | |
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Fandom: BLAKES 7 Pairing: Cally/Travis or Cally-Travis Author on LJ: lyssieAuthor Website: http://lysanity.topcities.com/ana/index.htmWhy this must be read:With the second of Lyssie's two consecutive Cally-Travis vignettes, we've moved a year into the future and well into AU territory, with Cally having survived Terminal. She's come full-circle to who she was when she first appeared on Saurian Major: one guerrilla fighter in red leather highlighted against the horizon, alone, having survived everyone she knew, and blowing up every target she can find because it's all she can do. (You don't think there have been enough explosions in my recs so far? Well, I wasn't kidding about ending the fireworks show with some good ones.) ( The explosions have been filling the night sky for the last several minutes. Alarms are blaring all across the city... )If she's returned to her origins, Travis, on the other hand, is a man still searching for a place in his world. With one failed coup behind him, and his new enemy, the Federation he felt had betrayed him and its own ideals, on the march to even greater power, he wants one more chance to bring it down. When he finds that he and Cally are winding up in the same place for the same reasons, there's a second chance for both of them, and he winds up making her much the same offer as Blake had made to her on Saurian Major. The interaction is fabulous; two highly-trained fighters with little to lose, one idealistic by nature and the other bullying and bitter by nature, neither trusting or liking the other, bandying pointed and dry, barbed comments to goad the other, but ultimately coming to some sort of understanding and, by implication, a common goal, despite never once forgetting how opposite their ideas and actions have always been. The immediacy of this story, aside from being one of two lost people finding purpose and allies in an empty world, lies in, as a certain other BBC science fiction show once put it, "A brilliant move. The black and white pawns don't fight each other, they join forces." This is the promise of the previous vignette realized, as roles and allegiances shift, possibilities open up, and the tense balance of control and resistance in this political landscape is restored. ( If he caught the dig at his own war crimes, he doesn't show it.... )Too Many Light Years Run | | |
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Like all good fireworks shows, this month of Cally fic recs is going to end on a grand finale. We're going to wrap up the two-week Cally-Travis theme that's following the Cally-Avon theme, and then I've got some lovely, sparkly surprises to send everyone away happy. Fandom: BLAKES 7 Pairing: Cally/Travis or Cally-Travis Author on LJ: lyssieAuthor Website: http://lysanity.topcities.com/ana/index.htmWhy this must be read:Lyssie's universe is a dry, dark one; not hopeless, but demanding of its inhabitants, a world full of hard, vulnerable, tired people who try to keep going and aren't always sure why. This is the first of two consecutive character vignettes, which illustrate beautifully the appeal in putting Cally and Travis side-by-side in fic. While Travis starts the show as a nemesis and dark mirror of Blake, his role changes when he's put on trial and escapes the Federation he believed in. He starts to more closely mirror Cally; they are unwilling exiles on opposite sides, they are soldiers trying to bring down the Federation for opposite ideological reasons. This story is, as most Travis-and-Cally stories need to be, at least somewhat AU, in that it presumes Travis survived the Star One accident we're meant to believe killed him. Her versions of Cally and Travis are painfully aware of the complications their pasts and also of the diminished circumstances of their presents, and yet they still manage to find enough common ground to walk warily around each other, perhaps enabled by the lack of any respect or other need that'd lead them to be guarded around each other. Her extrapolations of these characters, one supposed to be dead and one largely forgotten by the writers, is true to their origins and later development, not comforting or full of any resolutions for the things that haunt and drive them, and also allows each to show how they've grown and changed by the end of the story. The prose is sharp and staccato, like a 1940s noir story - these are dark streets full of characters who have seen to much. The final line is a beautiful one, both sad and full of possibilities, opening up the world for characters whose stories were presumed to have been over. ( Later, she would wonder if he'd deliberately let her see him... )Not a Bad Dream | | |
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Fandom: BLAKES 7 Pairing: Cally/Travis Author on LJ: archbishopmAuthor Website: Penny Dreadful's Fan-FictionWhy this must be read:In one of the greatest indignities foisted on an alien guerrilla fighter with a self-destructive streak a mile wide, Cally was often reduced to caring for the crew with gentle platitudes and fetched drinks or being mentally taken over by aliens who played off of the loneliness of an isolated telepath, while her rifle gathered dust on some forgotten shelf (forgotten, at least, to the script-writers). "Not" doesn't ignore that, but uses it and twists it, until we see what happened to make her that way and how far she still has to fall. Written by the sekrit identity of one of the best B7 writers around, and full of trademarked grim postmodern goodness, this AU branches off when, during the events of "Hostage", Cally tells the crew that Avon has contacted Servalan instead of keeping quiet. With this knowledge, Blake makes a deal with Travis, and his former pursuer becomes a fixture on the Liberator. This is a dark, bleak story, of a fighter who has lost her will to fight, of a telepath who has lost the contact she needs to remain mentally balanced. When Travis, who as a Federation officer once tortured Cally, comes on board, she is an outsider among strangers, and losing her ability to seperate her thoughts from her words and the thoughts of others from her own. She is losing and growing accustomed to it. With Travis playing mindgames among the crew, she loses more and more, sacrificing her dignity, her body, her ethics almost willingly, for that small bit of focus it grants her, that chance to reclaim small parts of herself from the oblivion she is facing. The prose is harsh and claustrophobic, with a stillness and inevitability that draws in the reader as surely as Cally as is drawn in. ( He turned around and looked at me. 'You've lost your
edge,' he said. )Not | | |
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Fandom: BLAKES 7 Pairing: none (Avon-Cally gen) Author on LJ: unknown Author Website: unknown Why this must be read: You may have noticed that Avon and Cally get teamed up a lot. Why? Karma. It's like hot and cold, light and dark, yin and yang, vanilla and chocolate. Basically, if you're going to be a misanthropic cynic with a penchant for fiddling with computers quietly, you will get teamed with the raging idealist with an action kick. See? It's that contrast thing. And, as Spinal Tap said on the subject of textual contrast, "Being in a tall-girls school would make us look very short, while being in an all-girls school would make us look very... male". Fortunately, Avon learned early on to put on some platform shoes and make the most of it, because, let's face it, it's hard to make him look butch in the company of the women of Blake's 7, when he's a code monkey and Cally's, like, a professional terrorist. (Of course, they're also paired up a lot because she's the only person he's never quite managed to start a knock-down, dragged-out argument with, making them the least likely to stuff up a mission together for stupid reasons. This being Blake's 7, of course, things usually go to hell anyway.) This story shows the most unlikely - and uniquely - functional team that Blake's 7 ever produced in action. It's not lush like The Quibell Abduction, nor extravagently dark and grim like much B7 fiction, but spare and focused, with efficient prose and a knack for combining gritty violence and gentle character piece seamlessly. In "Open Season", we hit the ground running, with Avon and Cally already long past the action-packed heist and dramatic showdown, and just trying to survive, injured and running out of ammunition, as the bounty-hunting vultures close in for the kill - it's Butch and Sundance, not robbing the train, but reaching the end of the line while on the run in South America. It's also a neat, self-contained metaphor for the relationship between Avon and Cally - two people, damaged and tired, becoming unlikely allies while trying to survive in a desolate, cold, and dangerous environment. ( Serried snowflakes and the oncoming dark strained Cally's eyes. ) | | |
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Good morning, I'll be your Blake's 7 Crack-Van driver for November. Now, I think we'll go with sort of a theme this month. One of the disappointing things for fans of Blake's 7 is how the female characters began with such flair and anti-stereotypical backgrounds, as guerrilla fighters or smugglers or professional gunhands, and all too often ended up sitting around manning the phones and chatting while the men ran off to play with explosives and dodge bullets, when, in truth, the women were almost across the board more experienced and better-qualified for that job. That, fortunately, is something fanfic writers occasionally take it into their heads to correct. So because the best things in life are aliens, which are all exoticism and the metaphorical exploration of modern alienation, and explosions, which are fun, we're going to have a month of Cally fiction. Fandom: BLAKES 7 Pairing: none (Avon-Cally gen) Author on LJ: unknown Author Website: unknown Why this must be read: We're gonna start out old school this month, and turn back time 25 years. Blake's 7 fandom is zine-heavy, and much of its fic remains in hardcopy, although a few of the zines from those heady, lawless, pre-internet days are now turning up online. The Quibell Abduction is one of those; a story from 1980, only recently added to the online archives. It remains one of the most recommended Cally-centric stories. At the heart of the story is an undercover operation that goes badly wrong - not for the usual reasons, but because there is a far more menacing and horrific operation going on underground. On a mission to obtain needed supplies, Avon and Cally start out masquerading their way under the noses of Federation security on a sleepy backwater planet and are rapidly involved in a sitatuion that forces them to work with the local Federation officers to avert a planet-wide catastrophe. ( The xeno-gardens spilled their exotic scents into the warm breeze blowing from the dark, rippling lake... )What's it got going for it? This is good sci-fi, set a well-drawn world, with social tensions, complex characters, a rich enviroment, and detailed alien species. It's a fast-paced action story in a fandom frankly prone to a bit of navel-gazing, and it gives the alien guerrilla fighter a chance to shine, and use both her fighting skills and her alienness to her - and the plot's - advantage. ( Less than twenty metres from collision, Cally pushed the power to full... )It's that classic formula for good Blake's 7: good and evil alike drawn in shades of gray, explosive sci-fi action, a hint of horror - and of humor. ( Read more... )Oh, that dry, off-beat alien sense of humor, which somehow functions best when in the thick of major soldier-of-fortune action involving imminent explosions. So go on, wipe the cobwebs off the bottle, and pour yourself a nice big glass of some vintage Blake's 7. You're going to need that stiff drink later in the month. The Quibell Abduction | | |
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Fandom: BLAKE'S 7
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: sallymn
Author Website: none, but many of Sally's stories are on the Hermit Library
Why this must be read:
I really want to rec Sally's beautiful and haunting (in both senses) A Christmas Canto but it's no on line yet. So I decided to go for something light and fun for my last rec of the month.
This is an AU branching off at the very beginning of season 3 in Power Play, and I do wish it had happened this way. Vila didn't understand anything that had happened since Star One. He'd crashed on this godforsaken hole, he'd called for help, he'd called and called and -
Well, the two girls who'd found him and brought him here to the safety of this ship were prettier than Avon, so he supposed that they were all right. The man however - the man they called the Captain, dressed in black, with the curls and bright eyes and blinding number of teeth when he smiled - he wasn't at all sure of. No, it's not who you think. Go and enjoy a bit of fun with an sharp edge. Power Glitch | | |
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Fandom: BLAKE'S 7
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: entropy_house
Author Website: Marian's Sites, but most of Marian's stories are on the Hermit Library
Why this must be read:
This is a very inventive PGP (post Gauda Prime) in which everyone survives--but there's a twist which takes a while to reveal itself. It's a lovely convoluted plot in which everyone is beautifully in character; a delight to read. I have slight reservations about the darker implications of the revelations, but even they don't spoil a story I've read more than once and enjoyed just as much as the first time.
Here's the beginning. Blake's eyes snapped open, but he saw nothing. Something covered his face. He put his hands up and encountered resistance. He investigated, trying to remain calm. A tough fabric covered his entire body. He pulled and kicked, but the fabric wouldn't tear, barely even moved. It was stiff and colder than anything he'd ever felt, so cold his mind couldn't register the sensation properly. He panicked and struggled, gasping wildly. His right hand struck something metallic amongst the folds. It had felt like a zipper, so he traced it up to the top of the sack, poking a finger through a small gap above the zipper, and pushing until he felt it give. Once he'd widened the gap enough to put his hand out and grasp the zipper pull from the outside, it went quicker. He wriggled out like a butterfly escaping from its chrysalis, landing on a hard surface with what should have been a loud thump. There was no sound. There hadn't been any, he suddenly realized, even his gasps being silent. Go and read the rest. Dupe (complete) Dupe (page 1 of 18) | | |
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Fandom: BLAKE'S 7
Pairing: none
Author on LJ: hafren
Author Website: Hafren's Gloomy Patch of the Forest
Why this must be read:
This is a finely-polished little gem of a story told from the point of view of a man indulging his hobby of people-watching at a favourite casino. No one but the watcher is named, but you will recognise the casino owner and the chess-player. So much is hinted at in this bitter-sweet vignette, but to say any more would ruin it for the reader.
Go and enjoy.
Memories | | |
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