Ante Mortem

Fanfiction
Title:	Ante Mortem
Author(s):	M. Fae Glasgow
Date(s):	May 1991
Length:
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	Blake's 7
External Links:	Ante Mortem
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Ante Mortem is a Blake's 7 Avon/Blake story by M. Fae Glasgow.

It was first published in Oblaque #4 and has been archived online.

Reactions and Reviews

MUSE OF FIRE RESPONSIBLE: M. Fae Glasgow

HAS POOR VILA BEEN DRAGOONED INTO THIS SHITSHOW? VILA IS NOT SAFE

WHY ARE BLAKE AND AVON DOOMED THIS WEEK? Blake loves an ideal version of Avon and is dumb; Avon is full of ennui.

EDITOR’S NOTE: at least it is short

PROSE: fucked by no dialogue

OVERALL: Aralias has said before that many a fic that has too little dialogue could be fixed with its addition, because structurally, dialogue would force pace to work better and force people to interact, to buffet against one another, and would direct the action differently. This fic makes me feel her point. Glasgow is fond of this tripartite structure, where Blake, Avon and Vila all ‘have their say’, and I think it *could* work and never does. Blake gets character assassinated all the harder for being given the opportunity to pseudo-think, but then not given half the common sense of canon!Blake and/or a goose, and being assigned the duty of Jarviking about the place. Avon gets to be world-weary and simultaneously full of poignant feelings and far too cool for feelings. Vila gets to be a weird servile cringer assigned the duty of hating Blake For Avon/critiquing Avon in a way that actually just consists of licking his combo of poignant feelings!! and cold bitchiness. Vila is so, so emptied out by these. Glasgow’s fics seem kind of animated by–an unrecognized loathing for all three of them that doesn’t want any of them to fully exist, but they’re hardest on Vila, who just gets to fetishize Avon’s Alphosity. I must admit, I skimmed this after page 5. It’s just hard-going and dull and unpleasant, and for all Glasgow thinks Blake is a piece of shit, idk, at least he… gets some fucking goals and sensory experiences that aren’t Avon’s peeving about with ossified bodies and Vila’s rolling around under a fur spread. As Kanye tells us, ‘fur pillows are hard to actually sleep on’.