Promises, Promises...

Fanfiction
Title:	Promises, Promises...
Author(s):	M. Fae Glasgow
Date(s):	1990
Length:
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	Blake's 7
External Links:	online here
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Promises, Promises... is a Blake's 7 Blake/Avon story by M. Fae Glasgow.

It was published in Oblaque #4 and is online.

Reactions and Reviews

MUSE OF FIRE RESPONSIBLE: M. Fae Glasgow

HAS POOR VILA BEEN DRAGOONED INTO THIS SHITSHOW? Vila

WHY ARE BLAKE AND AVON DOOMED THIS WEEK? Avon is still a bit into Vila; Blake has homophobic class norms and has been character-assassinated harder than Caesar was assassinated. It has me like Marc Antony up in here, I got funeral speeches for days.

EDITOR’S NOTE: “And of course, there is family. Always, there is family.” Weird–not only is that a terrible line, it’s also what I told my analyst this week.

PROSE: same dialogue problems as last time

OVERALL:

PIII of Dome Cycle

The story’s urge to do a not-quite-comedy of manners here over-rides it’s characters’ humanity and believability. But surely the whole point of talking about class is to talk about how it shapes human interactions? You can have horrible, classist, believable people: Austen and Dickens did. In fact, that’s the only way to stage effectual discussions of the topic. I can buy Avon’s Mom responding REALLY differently to Avon coming home than someone else might (though I think the fic thinks the two mothers’ reactions are more different than it’s actually depicted them as) due to her specific demographic positioning. I cannot buy her one-note GOSH, HOME FROM PRSION/THE REVOLUTION, AND SEATED SO UNTIDILY!! Like–response that might be–a /component/ of her reaction? But we’re in full Alice in Wonderland surreal territory with her, in what’s otherwise a realist text. Even if she dislikes Avon… pure practical considerations would run ahead of these concerns? Unless she’s supposed to be dumb as fuck, or deeply unstable, and I don’t believe she is.

All the class stuff is so time-located! This is especially weird in what is, in some ways, a kind of serious SFnal story, though I didn’t mind it so much in the Five and Cybermen BFA “Spare Parts”, so maybe I can’t kvetch.

‘Luncheon’, etcetera: It’s a weird–Americanish?–version of Upper Classness. Idk, I feel like everything about these stories would be better if everyone involved had to read one Wodehouse novel and report back. (EDIT: Glasgow did write one Jeeves/Wooster fic!! Guess not even Plum could save her.)

And as I fucking kneeeeew, Blake feels about Avon a little like Avon feels about Vila (and/or still has the class expectations and inhibitions Avon is only now working through), and apparently that makes Blake a shitty shitty shit shit and Avon totally blameless. EVEN THOUGH all through this chapter Avon’s like MAN I HOPE I DO NOT LOVE BLAKE, EW, Blake still should have his emotional labour on-fleek in the middle of this especially pivotal moment in the revolution.

This crap le petit mort thing, I can’t. (‘skin whispering sexy secrets to matching skin’ is also… not a fav of mine)

The way time’s passing and what’s happening could be clearer in this part.

I know the story doesn’t ‘mean’ it in a way, but the longing on p7’s almost fun?

This story wants like–simultaneously for everything to be run well (and for it to be Blake’s fault if it’s not) and for people not to do the work that requires, because it’s soooo boooooring that they have to focus and debate shit. Idfk.

[snipped, see the original post for the rest]