Avon/Vila

Avon/Vila is one of the most popular ships in Blake's 7 fandom,Hermit's index of 'Slash and Adult Pairings' lists c500 known Blake/Avon fics, c350 known Avon/Vila, <100 Avon/Tarrant, <100 Avon/Cally pairing cynical computer genius and failed white-collar criminal Kerr Avon with the more light-hearted, work-shy Delta thief Vila Restal. As a result many fics featuring this pairing focus on their shared criminal nature and/or on the differences between their classes/grades. 
The early multimedia fanzine touched, which through its editor's preference heavily leaned towards A/V in the Blake's 7 slash it featured, humorously characterises Avon/Vila as follows:
As with B/A, fans of Avon/Vila find support for the pairing throughout the series, in particularly also because Avon and Vila are the only characters that remain together for the entire run of the show. Their canonical relationship is characterised by banter, which fans of the pairing see as evidence for the companionship between the two characters, though others have read it as evidence of dislike. This style of interaction is evident from very early on:
A further milestone for A/V fans is the episode 'City at the Edge of Forever': While the episode also (temporarily) pairs Vila up with a female love interest (Kerril), it also includes Avon defending Vila in his absence against fellow crew member Tarrant and putting every effort into retrieving the kidnapped Vila. 
 If script-editor Chris Boucher seems to have been responsible for many of the biggest Blake/Avon moments and seems to have at-times almost supported that pairing, it is writer Robert Holmes who is responsible for many of the highlights of the canonical basis for A/V. Three of Holmes's four B7 episodes focus on this team-up: In 'Killer', Avon takes Vila on a mission to extort a piece of equipment from an 'old friend'. In 'Gambit', Avon and Vila rob a casino together behind the backs of the rest of the crew (and Vila drunkenly drapes himself around Avon). Both episodes illustrate the partnership-style interaction between the two characters. Finally, Holmes is also responsible for 'Orbit,' an episode that spawned hundreds of fics attempting to deal with the traumatic events depicted, which for Avon/Vila fans are an easy equivalent to the events of Gauda Prime / 'Blake' for A/B fans.
==Characterisation by TPTB==
In an issue of the Starburst Magazine released before series 3 articles and mentions of Blake's 7 in Starburst, compiled by Judith Proctor , Michael Keating, who played Vila, is quoted as saying
In the Blake's 7 Magazine and seeming before/during series 4, Paul Darrow, who played Avon, is quoted as saying:
At other times, Darrow reputedly described Avon's relationship with Vila rather derogatorily as "one man and his dog",Writer Tony Atwood quoted in Who Survived Gauda Prime?​ by Nicola Mody, though the timeline of that comment is unclear. Darrow was supposedly appalled at the idea of slash in his fandom (see, The Blake's 7 Wars), and may have directed this ire against A/V in particular, as some of the major players in the Wars were A/V writers. However, Darrow's own screenplay Man of Iron depicts Vila holding the rest of the crew at gunpoint when they refuse to save Avon (and in the end Avon almost thanks him for it) - arguably almost more than Holmes had ever done. 
It also seems at least possible that Darrow's own easy relationship with Michael Keating (demonstrated at conventions) may have prompted some of the slashers to write as they did. This close friendship between the two actors continued until Paul Darrow's passing in 2019, and though convention appearances of the two actors together had grown less, they competed together in the UK quiz show Pointless as recently as 2018.
==Fandom History==
Avon/Vila was one of two juggernaut pairings in the early days of B7, only competing with Blake/Avon. It features in numerous zines, particularly those by Ashton Press, and was one of only three pairings (the others being Blake/Avon and Avon/Tarrant) to have its own single-pairing zines, most prominently the .75 issues of Southern Comfort. It also appeared in the fandom's earliest all-slash zine E-Man-Uelle in 1983, which is considered to be of poor quality, and in other early zines containing B7 slash, such as the multimedia zine touched, where the pairing appears from the very first issue (1984) and thus earlier than "touched"'s first A/B. The editor of "touched" gives the nod to E-Man-Uelle as the origin of A/T: 
In "touched", Julie Kramer contrasted Avon/Vila with Avon/Blake, describing the appeal of the A/V pairing: 
Interestingly, the pairing's popularity seems to have suffered during the move to web-based fandom, with B/A and A/T seeming to dominate discussion on the fandom's slash lists, Space City and Freedom City. Rallying Call, an apazine, seems to have seen a number of explicitly anti-Avon/Vila comments,Issue 14 (July 1995) possibly also because of its focus on Roj Blake, who tends to feature less in Avon/Vila stories. A/B continued to dominate later on Livejournal and Archive of our Own, with some of these spaces also being perceived as actively hostile towards A/V.Thread on the labelling of B7 slash on LJ (Accessed 31/08/2020)
Relatively few of the hundreds of A/V fics written in the zine era have been archived on the web, leading to the impression that Avon/Vila is a more minor pairing than it is,In May 2016 there were 515 Blake/Avon stories to only 64 Avon/Vila stories - these stats are also following the import of Hermit Library, which leaned towards A/B. As of August 2020, there are 581 A/B fics to 108 A/V fics. with one fan commenting: 
While less A/V fic from the zine era has been archived online and fics written for the pairing in the internet era are fewer, internet-based Avon/Vila fans do exist. On Livejournal, Nicola Mody and Van, amongst others, supported the pairing both as a gen friendship and as slash. As of 2020, Avon/Vila fans are mostly active on Tumblr, where the pairing experienced a resurgence in the later 2010s and remains one of the most popular pairings. Tumblr's Avon/Vila fans seem less interested in the Gothic/post-Orbit/class type elements of the pairing, and more interested in the witty partnership.
==Fanfiction and Popular Tropes==
===Post-Orbit===
In the episode, "Orbit," Avon finds himself forced to kill Vila to survive (but ultimately finds a different solution). 
This means that Post-Orbit is to A/V what Post-Gauda Prime is to A/B: an almost unlimited source of angst as well as an episode that helps support the pairing. 
Typical fics show Avon trying to reconcile with Vila immediately after the event, with or without success; or (more rarely) use the event to separate the characters based on this misunderstanding until they can be reconciled later. Some fics also postpone the reconciliation until after the events of Gauda Prime ('Blake'), without the characters really separating in between. As with Avon shooting Blake, Avon's attempt to kill Vila in 'Orbit' is sometimes explained away by madness, or mind control (at the hands of Servalan), or alternately it never happened at all because series 4 is a dream.
Post-Orbit fics are popular in gen zines as well as slash (see smarm).
In some fics Vila is outraged at Avon's behaviour, but in many he becomes terrified of Avon, leading to Sarah Thompson memorably describing the pairing as a gothic romance:
Comarum, a fan on Tumblr, commented in 2016 in response to the quotation above:
* Paula, "An Anodyne to Dreams"
* Mal O'Dar, "Cause and Redemption"
* Dovya Blacque, "A Matter of Trust"(Vila comforts Avon! who misses Blake)
* Quale and Scorpio, "Covenant" (Avon rapes Vila without realising Vila doesn't like it)
* Vanessa Mullen, "Good Intentions" (Avon rapes Vila without realising Vila doesn't like it)
* Ty Downs, "Habits" (Vila is scared of Avon, but stays with him anyway)
* Ellis Ward, "In Lieu of Regrets"
* Istia, Needs
Although this scenario is especially associated with zine fandom, Livejournal/Tumblr/AO3 has also explored the theme.
* Lycoris, Hiding
* A prompt on the B7 Kink Meme, "Avon/Vila, first time dubcon. It's just after Orbit and Avon goes to try and talk to Vila. Vila reacts poorly and it turns into a fight which turns into frantic, needy sex which Vila isn't entirely sure he wants but Avon desperately does. And it doesn't fix anything."Prompt on B7 Kink Meme, Livejournal, Jan. 21st, 2014 resulted in two fills
===Post Gauda Prime===
Avon/Vila shippers also make use of the Post Gauda Prime period, particularly as Avon is the only character likely to be alive at the end of the series, except perhaps for Vila who reputedly falls the wrong way based on the direction of the shot that 'kills him'. In some Avon/Vila PGP fics, Avon and Vila are the only survivors; in others, more members of the crew survive. These other survivors sometimes also do include Blake (and Cally), so the Avon/Vila brand of PGP fics is not solely an opportunity to remove a "rival love interest" to allow for an Avon/Vila relationship, though fics of this kind also exist. 
* Ann Wortham and Leah Rosenthal, Last Stand at the Edge of the World (gen, Vila is paired with Kerril, but a threesome is heavily implied (and carried to its conclusion in the sequels and spin-off fics))
* Hafren, Heartlands (heavily A/B, but Avon ends up with Vila after Blake's death, semi-unrequited relationship on Vila's side)
* babel, Never Had a Chance
* Shimere277, A Man and His Dog and the sequel, A Thief and His Lover
* still_lycoris, Still Here
* Van, Equals
* Jaelijn, Bitter Days, and Sweet
===Class===
In the early 1990s, Textual Poachers described Avon/Vila fic as often being about class:
However, as the fan quote by Julie Kramer from touched above also shows, even in early zine fandom, Avon/Vila was far from limited to discussions of class, nor were the roles always as strictly laid out as Textual Poachers makes it seem. An informal survey about 'The Perfect Avon/Vila Story' in Unique Touch #2 (1988) initiated by Chris K., for instance, makes not a single mention of the grade dynamic, but heavily emphasises preferences for friendship and romance.The Unique Touch #2,pp.46-51 
Other examples of stories negotiating the class dynamic:
* Pat Terra, Jealousy (A/V, implied A/Tynus)
* Catocala, "Crossing the Grade"
* Adrian Morgan and Brendan O'Cullane, "Outside/In"
* M. Fae Glasgow, "There is None So Blind"
* Jane Carnall, All Alone (B/V, T/V, unconsummated A/V)
===Partners (in Crime)===
Possibly even more popular than the class/grade dynamics, certainly in the more contemporary Avon/Vila fanworks as of 2020, is the emphasis of Avon and Vila as fellow thieves, 'a kinship of rogues.'Julie Kramer in touched #8 (1985), p. 27
The same Tumblr-era fan who commented above on the Gothic version of the pairing remarked:
Jaelijn described the appeal of the pairing similarly: 
Stories focussing on this kind of character dynamic do not always feature an actual criminal heist, but some also included this as a plot element. 
Examples of this kind of dynamic in fanworks:
* Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer by Stranger
* A Little Gift by icarus_chained
* Winning by kindkit
* "Friendly Persuasion" and "On Credit" by Daley Kelly
* Many of Nicola Mody's gen fic falls into this category, for example: Hot Stuff, Beta Release
* Satisfaction by Van Donovan (gen)
===Blake, and Other Characters===
 Roj Blake features often in A/V stories. Sometimes, he is the partner Avon wishes he were with instead of Vila who he has settled for (making the story more of an Avon/Blake than an Avon/Vila); or Blake appears as the tyrant who either Avon or Vila need to be rescued from; or he expresses concerns about their relationship on one ground or another (often out of concern for one or both characters, rarely out of homophobia); or (far more rarely) he is the third corner of a threesome. At other times, Blake is simply a friend or important figure in the pairing's lives, without direct influence on the relationship. Vila features relatively (but less) often in A/B endgame stories in a similar roles to those he takes in the Blake-concerned A/V stories, i.e. as unrequited lover of Avon. 
No other character features as often in A/V stories, although some do feature Cally as a potential or actual romantic interest for Avon, and sometimes Tarrant takes the Blake-as-menace role.
* Lights Out: A Game of Tag, Part III by Caroline D. (A rare real threesome story, BDSM with Blake and Vila teaming up on Avon.) 
* Caveat Emptor by M Fae Glasgow (Avon loves Vila, spurning Blake)
* Witness by Jane Baron (Avon loves Blake, spurning Vila)
* Bittersweet by Sebastian (Avon loves Blake, spurning Vila, but before that they have a threesome)
* "Pick up the Pieces" by Adrian Morgan & Brendan O'Cullane (Southern Comfort 5.5), (Blake was raping Avon, Vila heals Avon with his love)
* Trust Like the Soul by Jean Lorrah (Avon loves Cally, but being in a female body expresses interest in Vila (who loves him, but sexually only as a woman), and strongly disavowing Blake)
* Jane Carnall, All Alone (Blake and Tarrant molest Vila, Avon loves Vila but does not push for consummation, thus Vila loves Avon)
* M. Fae Glasgow, The Dome Cycle (A/V, later A/B/V)
* tenaya, Double Duel Avon/Vila, Blake/Jenna, Blake/Vila, Avon/Blake
* julad, The Fool Avon/Vila (with a darkly enigmatic Avon, the nature of whose fixation on Blake is unclear)
===Smarm===
As with Blake-Avon, there are a number of stories that are actually gen that depict the relationship between Avon and Vila strongly enough that they could be read as slash. Indeed Last Stand at the Edge of the World by Ann Wortham and Leah Rosenthal is featured on Space City's list of best A/V stories without explanation. A fan writes in Communications Console:
Other examples:
* The Haunting of Haderon by Lillian Sheperd
* The Vila Restal memorial angst and post-alternative Orbit wallow section in Southern Comfort 9, including Kathy Coy, "The Road Not Taken"; Jeannie Webster, "The Road Not Taken II"; Melanie Ogle, "In Vino Veritas"; Donna Wilson, "Safe With You"
In some of these stories, Avon and Vila are actual family (usually brothers) rather than romantic partners, most prominently in the The Bizarro Zine. 
====Smarm in Expanded Universe and Blake's 7-related Materials====
 Big Finish's Blake's 7 audio plays have continued the tradition of Avon-Vila double act episodes along the lines of the episodes written by Robert Holmes. Thanks to the involvement of the original cast, these are usually acted by both Darrow and Keating. Audios that heavily feature the Avon-Vila dynamic include The Turing Test, Disorder and Retribution.
Tanith Lee's Kill the Dead also depicts two possible Avon and Vila avatars with a very strong relationship between the two, Parl Dro and Myal Lemyal, although the relationship is again familial rather than romantic. 
In Gillian Taylor's Western series, the two Avon and Vila (or Darrow and Keating) avatars, Sheriff Beauchief Darrow and deputy Hugh Keating, are also close friends as well as professional partners.
==Fan Comments==
===1994===
==Fanworks==
===Fanzines===
The only A/V only zine series was Southern Comfort (aka Southern Lights) #.75, however A/V was featured heavily in several other multi-pairing and multi-fandom zines.
* Southern Comfort (aka Southern Lights) - A/V featured in 0 (multimedia), .5 issues (all B7) and .75 (all A/V)
* "touched"
* Oblaque, mostly A/B and A/V
* E-Man-Uelle
* Magnificent Tales
* The Other Side
* Avon Calling
* Resistance, mostly A/B and A/V
* Rebels and Fools, multipairing, A/V appear frequently
===Fanart Gallery===
File:avoncalling-9.jpg|from Avon Calling #2, Avon/Vila illo by Jessikah Rian for "The Hand of Friendship"
File:avoncalling-10.jpg|from Avon Calling #2, Kerr Avon and Vila Restal by Jessikah Rian for "The Hand of Friendship"
File:Southern375.jpg|front cover of issue Southern Lights #3.75, Leah Rosenthal. Rosenthal drew this pairing often, but generally in non-sexual scenarios. She also drew A/B and other scenes.
File:Southern375-1.jpg|Interior art from SL 3.75, Leah Rosenthal
File:Southern4.jpg|Cover of Southern Lights 4, Laura Virgil
File:Southern875.jpg|Cover of Southern Comfort by Phoenix. Many of the covers of Southern Comfort, even the A/V-only issues, depict one or the other character, rather than the two paired together. This is a rare sexual image.
File:Avoncalling3inside3.jpg|inside art from Avon Calling 3, by Phoenix. This sensual depiction of Avon/Villa also features a somewhat unusual composition by offering two different perspectives of Avon/Vila - the lower image uses a longer 'lens' to create a romantic feeling. The upper image, with a narrower focus, showcases the passionate urgency of the pairing.
File:Differentdestinies.jpg|Back cover of Different Destinies by Adrian Morgan, who also drew the front cover of this zine - which is A/B
File:SweetSavageDelta.png|Harlequin style image by Leah Rosenthal. Created as part of a writing competition in Southern Comfort #8.5, which resulted in a fic by Audrey Weirdsley in the next edition
File:AvonVilaText.jpg|Gambit based Text From the Federation.Text From the Federation, Tumblr, JANUARY 7, 2016 (12:00 PM) Tags include: #otp: thief and fetish gear weekends #that is literally what happened#Leather and Snark#Vila Restal Protection Society #this text is true#isn't it amazing though#that it IS Avon who invites Vila on the crazy scheme in Gambit#and not the other way around?
File:AvonVilaText2.jpg|Drinking/crime-based Text.Text From the Federation, Tumblr, MARCH 8, 2016 (12:00 PM) Tags include: #very true #it's funny because it's true
File:AvonVilaIfoughtspace.jpeg|A panel from Insomnia Cure, a fan comic from Drawing Blog of Fun (i-fought-space). This shows modern fandom's gentler/more equal take on the pairing, rather than the traditional Gothic.Drawing Blog of Fun aka i-fought-space, Tumblr, AUGUST 16, 2015
File:AvonVilahuddleforwarmth.jpg| A panel from Mfriddldribeets, a fan comic from Drawing Blog of Fun (i-fought-space). This comic from a new Tumblr-based fandom shows that traditional tropes such as Huddling for Warmth remain popular in A/V. Leah Rosenthal drew an A/B/V on this theme in 1990!Drawing Blog of Fun aka i-fought-space, Tumblr, SEPTEMBER 20, 2015
File:Drawing-blog-of-funAV.jpg|another example from the same panel
===Fanvids===
* Long, Long Time by Mary Van Deusen
* Mungojerry by Mary Van Deusen
* Back to Back by Mary Van Deusen
*Delightful Intruder by foreignobjecticus
==Other Resources==
* Romancing the Slash by Sarah Thompson
* List of all known A/V fics in zines, last updated 2003
* Space City's favourite A/V stories
==References==
Category:Slash Pairings
Category:Blake's 7 Relationships