Avon/Servalan
| Pairing | |
|---|---|
| Pairing: | Kerr Avon/Servalan |
| Alternative name(s): | A/S or A/Se (to distinguish it from Avon/Soolin, which is usually denoted A/So) |
| Gender category: | het, m/f |
| Fandom: | Blake's 7 |
| Canonical?: | yes, at least to a certain extent |
| Prevalence: | one of the more popular het ships, often used as a background ship |
| Archives: | Avon/Servalan on AO3, The Library at hermit.org (multi-pairing and gen archive), Liberated.org (multi-pairing and gen archive) |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Avon/Servalan is one of the few Blake's 7 ships that is arguably canon. Avon, the possibly amoral computer genius, is one of Blake's crew, and therefore theoretically opposed to Servalan, but if he could be turned he would be a great asset to her. . By series 3, the series had also begun to acknowledge that Avon was almost everyone's favourite character and highly fanciable. The first episode of this series (Aftermath) features Avon and Servalan sharing a passionate kiss after Servalan offers him a professional and sexual partnership: "You and I could build an empire greater and more powerful than the Federation ever was or ever could have been ... Imagination our only limit."[1] Avon spurns her offer ("Imagination my only limit? I'd be dead in a week.") but has clearly been considering it by the time they meet again in s3e12 'Deathwatch' when they share another kiss. Their relationship progresses no further than this on-screen, and Avon claims to want her dead several times, particularly following the (supposed) deaths of Blake and Cally, though they continue to flirt with each other, on and off, throughout series 4 (at one point Servalan almost buys Avon as a slave, and tells him: "I think, if you don't mind, I would prefer my slave to address me as `mistress'."[2]). While Chris Boucher, the writer of 'Deathwatch', apparently did not intend for there to be a kiss in that episode and seems to disapprove of A/S, the actors involved (Paul Darrow and Jacqueline Pearce) felt otherwise - and have continued to feel otherwise, touting the pairing in multiple interviews over the years.
In 1988, Jacqueline Pearce said:
The relationships [in Blake's 7] are where it's at. I don't think there's anything interesting about somebody standing there saying "Standard by ten." It's about relationships. That's what life is about, and that's what makes it interesting...Paul and I had developed a relationship for Avon and Servalan...I felt there was a fascination, a mutual need, and a form of love... They satisfied something in each other. They were both creatures of high intelligence, and if you're highly intelligent, there aren't that many people to play with. We all need somebody to play with. [3]
Fanfiction
Because of this semi-canon status, the pairing tends to feature as a background pairing in gen fics, and fics about other pairings. Such fics are difficult to track from the zine-era as if the relationship isn't explicitly consummated in fic, it will not appear on Hermit's pairing lists, however they are seem to be relatively common. In general Servalan who represents wealth, power and safety (everything that Avon claims he wants) is a temptation for Avon in fics that have another pairing (such as Blake/Avon or Avon/Cally) as end-game, or alternately her desire for Avon may be a plot point (i.e. she kidnaps him), or simply a background detail that colours their interactions. Avon may either respond favourably or unfavourably to her desire.
- Vanessa Mullen, Touching Life (Blake/Avon, with background A/S where she has convinced him to co-rule with her)
- Gemini, All in the Mind (Blake/Avon, with background explicit A/S where she threatens Blake to keep him compliant)
- Willa Shakespeare, Outwitted (Blake/Avon, with unrequited A/S)
- Jean Lorrah, Trust, Like the Soul (Avon/Cally, with background Servalan pursuing Avon)
- Tashery Shannon, A Companion for My Death (Avon/Cally, with background A/S)
- Katarina Larkin and Susanne Tilley, From the Log of the Hellhound (gen, Avon/OC, Servalan raped Avon pre series)
Avon/Servalan-centric fic is much rarer. In such fics the pairing is either confrontational and potentially violent (and may include dubcon elements, including drugs, mind control and torture, with Servalan generally the aggressor although not always), or may see Servalan successfully recruit Avon to the Federation's cause. In general, therefore, it is likely to be dark fic. 'Perfect Pleasure' by Southern Comfort, published in Alternative Seven (1980 - just after s3 has aired) is probably the first A/S fic. It's also a good illustration of what would later become this pairing's popular tropes. A fan summarised it as: Avon has been captured by the Federation, but when he proves resistant to interrogation, Servalan decides to keep him as a pet. By the time Blake and the crew arrive to rescue him, he's been brainwashed and dosed with aphrodisiacs. Another fan described joining Blake's 7 fandom, and reading A/S: "having started collecting B7 zines I found some pretty sexy, twisted up stuff."[4]
- Jean Graham, Allegiance (Avon is amoral, and willingly sides with Servalan)
- still_lycoris, A Stolen Life (Servalan brainwashes Avon)
- Brendan O'Cullane and Adrian Morgan, "Dearest Enemy" (Servalan as a vampire)
- Anon on the B7 Kink Meme, "Feel You From the Inside" (Servalan rapes Avon)
- Shimere277, With the Red of Stolen Roses Dub con, violence.
Modern Archive of Our Own fandom has produced a few more flirty fics, where they both enjoy some banter before Avon escapes.
- Arachne, "A Brief Revival of Saffron" (zine era)
- Nicola Mody, Stunned by Love (Harlequin fic)
- Unsentimental Fool, Shall We Dance?
- Lost Spook, Compendium
- Clocketpatch, Face of the Enemy (gen, but same tone)
Fanart Gallery
The cover of Straight Blake's 3 depicts the kiss in 'Aftermath' (art by Karen River. Interestingly no issue of this zine featured an actual A/S story
Internal art from A Companion for My Death, art by Gayle F
Internal art from Trust, Like the Soul (depicting a bodyswapped Cally in Avon's body and Servalan), art by Gayle F
Other fanworks
- Everybody Knows - Leonard Cohen, vid by la_Avispa
- Love Sex Magic, vid by Sasha Wood
- Love the Way You Love - Suede, vid by maxipower2008
Other resources
- All known A/S fics in zines, listed on Hermit
References
- ^ Aftermath, by Terry Nation, transcript, hosted at Hermit.org
- ^ Assassin, by Rod Beacham, transcript, hosted at Hermit.org
- ^ from an interview with Joe Nazarro in Freedom City Gazette 1989 Winter Special
- ^ Author's note on Checkmate by Mybenediction1