Kathryn wrote: <I was wondering, what is it about Hurt/Comfort fiction that fans seem to pick certain characters most often to be tormented, tortured and hurt? Why Avon rather than Blake? And if you say "he suffers beautifully", that isn't an answer.>
Damn. I was about to wail "but he looks so pretty!!!" which I take it is also not an answer ...
<Then I realized the common denominator of all three victims; they're all intellectuals, geeks. Not that Blake isn't a philosopher, but you've got to admit that Avon is more geeky than Blake. And with the others the difference is even more obvious. So why is it that the H/C writers have it in for geeks?>
<grin> I honestly hadn't thought of it that way, but then I don't go for h/c *except* in B7.
Okay, just a few thoughts ...
I have to admit, Avon is my favourite dumpee, although - in the course of the *huge* amount of reading needed for Jenny's and my A-B gen list - I did find I like Blake-dumping more than I used to. But it's still mostly (not always) on a mental/emotional level, because - while Avon's romantic history may be romantic - I don't really think it can compare in sheer trauma with what's been done to Blake before they even get to the Liberator (no, not even *post*-RoD). The sheer angst levels involved in dealing with his mind-rape and the molesting-those-children charges really leave any potential for *psychical* torture behind, especially given his attitude towards physical pain (Cygnus Alpha, anyone?) Plus, his usual protectiveness towards his own (and any lame strays they encounter) and the fact that he's torn between having to use them as Federation-fodder and caring about them as people means that physically hurting any of the rest is going to get far more angst out of him than hurting *him* is.
Also yes, Blake makes a wonderful comforter, being warm-hearted, physically strong enough to cope with injured and recalictrant comfortees, and able to judge when a hug *is* needed (my personal fanon says he gives good cuddles. My personal fanon does not say this about many of the rest.)
With Avon - the perfect (for me) comfortee - it's partly a matter of the balance between strength and vulnerability. Vila is (deliberately, most likely) *too* vulnerable, he'd go to pieces before the hurt even got started, which may be fun but does nothing for the angst levels :-). Gan, being a big, powerful man *isn't* physically vulnerable, and the amount of hurt involved to - well, *hurt* - would probably go rather a long way beyond my squick factor.
And Avon's reactions to being vulnerable - to risking those formidable defences of his - are more interesting than most of the others. In a good h/c story, he's - to put it mildly - rather less than willing to *be* comforted (another reason why Blake is the comforter of choice, since Blake is the only one who IMO can *make* Avon do what Avon doesn't want to do). In fact he sees it as a new and improved form of torture in itself, poor angel ...
_________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com.