Alison said:

I do know lots of very sensible people who take exactly the opposite view though (Dana I think you take a different view on this?) and feel that

Avon

is quite a sensual person, engaged very much with physical comforts and sensory experience.

In context, this implies that I am a very sensible person, so thanks. There are several issues here (and I *do* remember which list this is, so I'll tailor my response in those terms). In the original discussion, "sense" meant something like "emotion," and I would have to admit that My Client is a few quarts low in detecting and responding to other people's feelings. It is also entirely possible for someone to be highly sensual (in a sexual context or otherwise) without simultaneously being kind, warm-hearted, nice, etc.

For most of S1-S2, Blake is actually in an enjoyable (albeit stressful) position. His aim in life to defeat the Federation, and circumstances have greatly enhanced his ability to at least try to do that. He has a purpose in life, and much of his energy his directed toward that purpose. Whereas Avon is, as far as he can see, stuck in the middle of nowhere, at constant risk of dying horribly because of other people's agendas. As he might say, if life is a box of chocolates, at least you can get them from Godiva. The situation does offer some limited options for having a good time, and IMO Avon takes full advantage of them.

My main fannish activity is writing fanfic, (sub.nom. Executrix) a not-inconsiderable portion of which is more or less sexually explicit, and although a lot of my stories have Vila as a POV character, most of my stories end up being about Avon. It's much easier writing smut about someone who really likes sex than someone who really doesn't, of course.

Of course anyone, no matter how intellectual and introverted, can develop sensory expertise, if only from dogged practice. So, Avon could perhaps

have

worked very hard on his shooting skills, helped no doubt by the speed and skill with which he can mentally process the sense input once he has

learned

the knack.

So what do you think - is Avon sensual and physically adept, or not?

Sensual, I would say "certainly." Physically adept--well, he's kind of a lummox, isn't he? But certainly a good shot, no doubt as Alison says as a result of extensive practice because he's in an environment in which "let's try to shoot Avon" is a feature.

Basically, I think Avon is good at anything that can be analyzed into a sequence of numbered steps, with one right way to do each--which is one reason I think he'd a great cook, not to mention the unlikelihood of anyone else producing meals up to his standards.

That's an awfully reductive way to look at sex, of course. But then one way to analyze the arc of B7 is Avon's extremely gradual realization that there are FAR fewer things in lief that CAN meaningfully be analyzed into a sequence of numbered steps.

-(Y)