Duet for Emmanuelle
| Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | |
| Author(s): | Duet for Emmanuelle |
| Date(s): | 1994 |
| Length: | |
| Genre: | slash |
| Fandom: | Blake's 7 |
| External Links: | Duet for Emmanuelle, Archived version |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Duet for Emmanuelle is a slash Blake's 7 story by Tounge N. Chicque.
The pairing is Blake/Avon.
It was published in Resistance #8.
"Duet for Emmanuelle" is a parody and responsefic to the Avon/Vila series of stories by M.C. and K.F. called Comfort that were written between 1983-84. "Comfort" is perhaps the first mpreg in media fanfic.
Fan Confusion
Some fans appeared to think this was a serious story, rather than a spoof, despite the name of the "tongue in cheek" name of the author.
From a fan in 1994:
Thanks for the review. I would be inclined to believe that the one story you described is a spoof. At least, I hope so! [1]
Fan Comments
1994
Right--So we've got a story where Avon gets pregnant, and gives birth to and nurses Blake's baby. From what I could tell, this was intended as a serious story. I haven't read any earlier "Emmannuelle" stories [2], and I'm grateful. The wedding sequence reminded me of some K/S stories I read long ago, what with the simplistically drawn planetary society (Vulcan is several orders of magnitude more complex), the ritual fighting over the "bride," the gown, etc. It didn't feel like B7 to me at all, and it was surely free of any "developments in characterization" despite the fact that it's just sort of *announced* that Avon is a hermaphroditic alien. The stuff about pregnancy and nursing made me sicker than any hardcore catheter story ever concocted. Now that I think about it, no catheter story has ever made me sick at all, and actually they kind of turned me on, but *babies* have no place in a slash story, as far as I'm concerned. (They can be anywhere else they want, as long as it is far away from me.)[3]
The biggest disappointment was "Duet for Emmanuelle" by Tounge N. Chicque. I assume that both title and pseud refer to that infamous sappy A/V series that I've heard of repeatedly but never actually read. So there may be an element of parody here that I didn't get. The basic gimmick of the story is: Avon turns out to be a hermaphrodite from another planet. Now that idea, far-fatched though it is, has interesting possibilities. I think a good writer might be able to pull it off; one could, for example, interpret Avon's acerbic misanthropy as contempt for the foolishness of human sexual arrangements. The implications of a society in which everyone is the same sex are many and fascinating, and fan writers are often freer to explore them than pros; I vaguely recall reading an interview with L. McM. Bujold in which she said that she wanted Miles to have an affair with Bel Thorne, but her publisher wouldn't let her.
But alas, none of those enticing possibilities are considered here; instead, it's just a device for feminizing Avon. His species, it seems, has three sexes: the males, who are nasty MCPs; the rare females, who are sterile and sacred and function as a priesthood; and the hermaphrodites, who are kept in harems by the males and seem to function entirely as women. Apparently they can't get each other pregnant. Our Avon was a rebellious child bride who ran away from home at 15 when his family betrothed him to a notorious wife- beater. Most of the story is about how he accidentally becomes pregnant by Blake and then goes home with Blake and the baby for a formal wedding. Gag me with a spoon.
At the beginning of the story, the two of them fall into bed much too easily; and the unusual nature of Avon's anatomy, though described in full detail, doesn't seem to surprise Blake much at all. Arrgh, what wasted opportunities for angst! [4]
Thanks for the review. I would be inclined to believe that the one story you described is a spoof. At least, I hope so! There WAS an A/V novella issue of "Emmanuel" that involved an awful courtship, retching marriage, and the eventual pregnancy of Vila! (One of the worst parts: when Avon and Vila actually argue over who will get to be the one to be pregnant! Rivaled the previous scene that involved their marriage and an argument over who would get to take the other's last name! Since I don't want to leave you hanging, I believe they settled for Avon-Restal. The things we read for a fandom!) This was the zine that had the A/V novella in it right? Was it one of the stories you liked? [5]
1995
My brief sojourn in that fandom was not a pleasing experiencing, both from the dearth of anything but slash, and the hostility engendered when someone dared object to that. Not to mention the abundance of alternate universe material which has nothing whatsoever to do with THE PROFESSIONAL, only featuring two characters who bear some physical resemblance to Bodie and Doyle. (That's why that ridiculous Duet for Emanuel set me off. In truth, it's no worse than any dozen other stories I could dig up, but it was like a red flag going up: "Oh, geez, this is the sort of tripe they'd adore over in PROS, but why on earth do we have to put up with it in B7?) [6]
1999
I remember when the one B7 story where one of the guys became pregnant (I no longer remember if it was Avon or Vila, and I fear someone out there is going to remind me) was enough to taint the zine it came in as one of the worst of all time. Now that you have reminded me, I must share my pain, by telling you that it was indeed Avon, and he was pregnant by Blake, and it turned out that he was some sort of alien hermaphrodite prince(ss). It was in Resistance 8, and somehow that took the bloom out of the idea of reading all the other issues. [7]
2015
Tongue N. Cheek, "Duet for Emmanuelle" (A/B) I didn't re-read this, because it's long and it's mostly about the alien society that Avon the hermaphrodite alien hales from. While I think a modern reader might have more sympathy for MPreg in general, I do agree with the 1994 reviewer cited on Fanlore in that after a while this is barely B7 (although, I would argue, no more so than something like the Long Way Back). It just goes on and on and on. What's also weird (I did re-read this part, gentle reader, so I could be informed) is how quickly they decide to shag (decide is probably a strong word - it just seems to happen since they're stranded on a planet), and how Blake doesn't so much as blink when he discovers Avon's trousers do not contain what he expected. One can be too understanding. [8]
References
- ^ Michelle Christian, quoted with permission from Virgule-L (Sep 10, 1994)
- ^ This is a reference to the mpreg stories written ten years ago called Comfort in the early 1980s zine E-Man-Uelle .
- ^ Lysator, Erszebet Cronenlynch Bathory, dated September 11, 1994.
- ^ quoted anonymously from Virgule-L (Sep 10, 1994,)
- ^ Michelle Christian, quoted with permission from Virgule-L (Sep 10, 1994)
- ^ from Rallying Call #12
- ^ from Sandy Hereld on Virgule-L, quoted with permission (Jul 9, 1999)
- ^ Aralias' review of "Resistance", August 9, 2015