Blood and Shadows

Fanfiction
Title:	Blood and Shadows
Author(s):	Salome
Date(s):	1994
Length:
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	Blake's 7
External Links:	online here
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Blood and Shadows is a Blake's 7 story by Salome.

It was published in Dark Fantasies #2.

It was the winner of a 1995 STIFfie Award.

Two epilogues to this story by two different authors were published in 2002's Angelfood.

"Blood and Shadows is set after "Warlord" and the betrayal by Zukan with a twist the BBC didn't think of"

Reactions and Reviews

Unknown Date

I'll admit I'm prejudiced about Blood & Shadows... Back in my "het-only" days, it was the story that gave me the first hint that I might come to like--well, more than like--slash. And it features what became my favorite Blake's 7 pairing when I surrendered to my destiny: Avon/Tarrant.

Blood & Shadows--first published in Jo Ann McCoy's print zine Dark Fantasies and now posted at the Avon/Tarrant fiction site by permission-is not only slash, but an example of what's known in B7 fandom as a BUARA (Beat Up and Rape Avon story). In fact, this is pretty near the first thing that happens in the story... It's fourth series, Avon and Tarrant have been captured by Servalan, who drugs and conditions Tarrant into raping his crewmate, which he does in a scene that is both explicit and (to me, anyway) extremely hot.

As anyone who knows B7 could guess, Avon does not take too kindly to this treatment, and the rest of the story deals with the uncomfortable aftermath, guilt-ridden on Tarrant's part and anger-ridden on Avon's. It's not until a revelation of what really happened to Tarrant when in Avon's clutches occurs that a way to the comfort part of the h/c is made possible. But a warning: the flashback to Tarrant's experience with Servalan after Avon's rape is graphic and not in the sexy sense of the Avon rape scene. It's necessarily icky because of what it needs to accomplish in terms of the plot, but it's still a scene I winced through originally, and won't (can't) re-read.

But the rest of the story I re-read frequently-especially the comfort scene, which is sweet but not unAvonic, a delicate balance that's not easy to accomplish. Another plus is the positive treatment of the B7 women, who are actually given something to do despite the fact that the sex is focused on the menfolk. This isn't something you can say about every B7 story, whether slash, adult or gen. In short, this is a story I can recommend from several angles: for the hot sex, deft handling of all the characters, with an actual plot that fits into an alternate fourth series timeline. B&S is one of my favorites of a slash pairing only now beginning to come into popularity.

Avon and Tarrant are captured by Servalan, who tortures both of them and (temporarily) brainwashes Tarrant into helping her work over Avon. When only Avon can be rescued, the Scorpio crew have to decide what to do about Tarrant. Should they try to get him back if Avon will kill him on sight? Some very explicit violence.

1994

Blood and Shadows by Salome. 43 pgs. Tarrant and Avon are captured by Servalan, who uses psychomanipulation (the type used on Avon at Terminal) on Tarrant, to get him to rape Avon. When only Avon can be rescued, the other crew members have to decide how they feel about Tarrant; whether he's worth saving, what they believe the limits of psychomanipulation to be. I thought the story is a little over written, (Tarrant's POV) "He appreciated Dayna's kindness in thinking of him while she herself was in obvious distress from the memories aroused by the return to the childhood home that she had left in such traumatic circumstances. But he was still so tense that even the serenity of his environment failed to soothe him." But I thought the characterization was better in this story than some of the others: the scenes of Servalan running Tarrant through raping Avon are not bad; Soolin reluctantly respecting Avon's desire to hide what had happened, everybody hiding what had happened from Dayna: all of these rang pretty true. I can't easily discuss how unrealistic I found the ending without giving it away, So, SPOILER ALERT....Just two words: Sexual Healing...End SPOILER Alert. I hate that solution. YMMV. Not a bad story.

1996

Well, the story that got me thinking that maybe slash wasn't such a bad idea after all was "Blood and Shadows" by Salome in Dark Fantasies #2. It has the nice push-pull between Avon and Tarrant's genuine rivalry with one another and their equally genuine respect, and the rape scene is lovely if you like BUARA.

I admired Sarah's Dark Fantasies story..., but since it was one of her bloodbath, mindrape specials, I didn't have to think I ought to like it; it was just good writing. (I know, "just"? Good writing, here, is defined as something that doesn't embarrass me to be reading it, not even in front of myself. The characters in that story were never false for an instant, which is either superlative creation or the product of a very, very sick mind. Hi, Sarah!) In something of the same way, this one convinces me (well, almost convinces me, but let's say disbelief was suspended for a measurable period of time) of a premise that has long been abused in the worst ways fandom has to offer. That's a harder sell than using a premise I want to accept, and you have managed it so that Avon and Tarrant both act (a) like the screen characters, (b) like human beings and (c) in such a way that the reader believes in the sexual elements. As for the sick mind part, I'll leave that up (or down) to your own conscience.

2003

Why this must be read: OK, now we're in "people who like this sort of thing, this is the thing they like" territory. (The archive it appears on has a rating system, and Blood and Shadows was rated 4-out-of-5.)

This is a to-the-hilt example of both the BUARA (Beat Up and Rape Avon) and BABYT (Bind and Bugger Young Tarrant) genres. When Servalan captures Avon and Tarrant, Tarrant is conditioned to rape a severely abused Avon. The Scorpio crew rescues Avon and--a bit later--Dayna, in possession of less than all the facts, rescues Tarrant (who by this time has suffered extremely severe and graphically described physical and sexual abuse himself). Not really my sort of thing, but I can't say that it didn't leave an impression.

As you'd expect from a slash story, all is well again after the application of advanced 30th Century combat medical techniques and Therapeutic Sex, with Orac (for those outside the B7 ambit: the super-computer, who is so advanced as to be actually portable!) combines canonical crankiness with a somewhat out-of-character role as Yenta Sue.

2007

Blood and Shadows, by Salomé, Blakes 7. 43 pp. Avon/Tarrant Available online: Blood and Shadows, by Salomé. Servalan plays nasty games with a captured Tarrant and Avon, inducing a drugged Tarrant to rape Avon, which causes inevitable complications on the Liberator after each is (separately) rescued. I liked this apart from the (and I am sorry to be tedious, but it's a British show) Americanisms, but I have no objection to reading rape fic.