Javier Vachon
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Javier Vachon, J.D. Valdez (alias) |
| Occupation: | In present: none In life: conquistador |
| Relationships: | Urs (vampire daughter) Screed (friend) Bourbon (friend) Tracy Vetter (friend) |
| Fandom: | Forever Knight |
| Other: | brought across in 1531 A.D., near Lake Titicaca in Peru
 |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Javier Vachon is a fictional character that appeared in the third season of the television series, Forever Knight. The part was played by Ben Bass. Vachon is a Spanish vagabond vampire who moved to Toronto some time between the second and third seasons of Forever Knight along with his friends Urs and Screed.
Vachon squats in an abandoned church, which he has only somewhat tidied up. Presumably by default of electricity, he lights it with sconces of candles.
Character Evolution
[1]Vachon is first introduced in the Season Three premiere, "Black Buddha", under the alias J. D. Valdez—the name he was using when he bought a plane ticket in order to get out of Toronto ahead of his nemesis, the Inca, who has pursued him for centuries to try to force him to fulfil his master's instructions to "protect those who love life". Even Urs, one of his closest friends, tells Nick Knight that Vachon is irresponsible, running from his obligations, evading trouble of all sorts, and interested only in his own amusements.
When the plane is blown up, Vachon's seeming corpse resuscitates in the wreckage; and he is seen escaping by Nick's partner, Det. Tracy Vetter. Pursuing the matter, she discovers his true nature; and, as Nick points out to Vachon, this puts her in danger. At Nick's insistence, Vachon agrees to remain in Toronto.
Vachon is therefore introduced both as irresponsible and as a man who, when he personally chooses to commit himself, stands by that choice. Later episodes continue to present him superficially as a slacker: he squats in an abandoned church, strumming a guitar, doing no work. However, his actions generally reinforce the contrary perspective, showing him as protector of the weak and champion of the underdog.[2]
Character History
Vachon's early history was revealed in the flashback to the second half of the Season Three premiere. As a young soldier with Pizarro's army in Peru, he was intercepted by an Incan warrior when he was sent with a message for reinforcements,. Each mortally wounded the other; but, as they lay dying, they were brought across by a mysterious vampire in a feather cloak. She then gave them their eternal orders to protect those who love life. Vachon promptly ignored these instructions, and was pursued down the centuries by the Inca.
At some subsequent point, Vachon picked up an assortment of travelling companions, including Screed, Bourbon, and Urs. (There may well have been other vampires in Vachon's crew; but none actually appeared in canon.)[3] Sometime before "Black Buddha", however, the crew broke up.
Fan Response
Even though fans deeply resented the cast changes forced on Forever Knight in its third season, this did not extend to the introduction of the new vampire characters—probably because they were not seen as replacements for any of those who were written out. Up to this point, Forever Knight had only had members of Nick's vampire family among the regular characters, though there had been numerous guests. Vachon and his crew were welcomed for their new perspective on the vampire community.
In addition, the actor playing Vachon was physically attractive. Which never hurts.
Pairings
Sample Fanart
Heather Bruton, from Amantes de la Noche #1 (1996)
Michael West, from Good Guys Wear Fangs #3 (1996)
Frank V. Liltz, from Knight Beat #7 (1996)
J. Jones, from Good Guys Wear Fangs #3 (1996)
Websites
- Vachon's Church[1] (a/k/a La Pagina de la Casa de los Vaqueros)
Vachon-Focused Factions
There are a number of groups within Forever Knight fandom who focus their interest on Javier Vachon more than other characters. These factions interact on mailing lists and groups, write fan fiction about Vachon, and play as teams in Forever Knight Wars.
After discussing various names, fans affiliating themselves with Vachon settled on the faction name Vaqueros—though many female fans prefer to use the correct Spanish gender, and hence call themselves "Vaqueras"; and the faction is sometimes referred to as the "Vaquero/as" to cover both possibilities.
The obvious couple faction for Vachon ought by rights to involve Tracy Vetter (which was undoubtedly the intent of TPTB, who deliberately cast two attractive young actors in the roles). However, the Tracy/Vachon-focused faction, the T & V Pack, never proved to be particularly popular, since most fans agree that the two characters work far better as friends than as a romantic couple. Instead, fans prefer to link Vachon with other characters.
Vachon sometimes appears in slash fiction. It should be noted, though, that the Heartbreakers take as their purview all aspects of the relationship between Nick and Vachon, including but not limited to sexual attraction. A later faction, the NightHaven or Night Havens, was created specifically for Nick/Vachon slash. There are also stories coupling Vachon with LaCroix, or involving a Nick/LaCroix/Vachon threesome; but no faction name was ever invented for them.
There are also couple factions for relationships between Vachon and female characters in the series. Of these, the most probable is the Dark Hearts faction (Vachon/Urs); but fans have also created the Lonely Hearts (Natalie/Vachon), and the Vachonettas (Janette/Vachon}.
References
- ^ Portions of this are drawn from the Forever Knight Wiki's article "Javier Vachon".
- ^ For example, Vachon supports the losing Indian tribes in "Blackwing" and saves Urs from Lemieux in "Hearts of Darkness".
- ^ The Season Three production notes call Vachon's crew the "Lost Boys", and provide the names and descriptions of several who never appeared on screen. The term "Lost Boys" is only occasionally used by fans, who have largely ignored the additional information except as it pertains to the history of the characters who were actually included in episodes.