DPP: Alternate Universes

[ninjamonkey73.livejournal.com]

Greetings and salutations, 'shipper nation! This is Amy, known on your internets as ninjamonkey73, and I'm driving the DPP bus this week. Sit back and enjoy the ride...

Lee and Kara are timeless. Our fandom is spilling over with great AU works. Let's talk about how you like to imagine Lee and Kara outside of their post-apocolyptic space adventure.

Wikipedia gives the following definition at the page on Alternate Universes:

Commonly abbreviated AU, stories of this type are usually what-ifs, where possibilities arising from different circumstances or character decisions are explored. Unlike regular fan fiction, which generally remains within the boundaries of the canon set out by the author, alternative universe fiction writers like to explore the possibilities of pivotal changes made to characters' history, motivations or environment.

Link to your fav AU pieces (have you read rayruz's Did I Fall Alseep Dollhouse crossover?), write something new (comment!fic will get you a virtual cookie), hypothesize about other universes where the characters of Kara and Lee are still our pilots without necessarily being pilots, per se.
 

Later today, I'll post a follow-up poll to nail down the exact rewatch details so we can get a calendar together.

Comments

[reginaspina.livejournal.com]

I have always been very intrigued by the idea (spurred by a deleted scene from "Razor") of Lee going to Pegasus and Kendra going to Galactica and the potential ramifications of that slight change in the plot.

[ninjamonkey73.livejournal.com]

I'll have to check that scene out when I get home. It does pose some interesting plot changes... Thanks!

[ddt73.livejournal.com]

What deleted scene you talking about?

My Favorite Things, Comment!fic

[callmeonetrack.livejournal.com]

Cheating a little because this is a prompt I've been mulling for Lotus79's prize for winning 2nd in the DPP scavenger hunt and I promised her K/L kidfic...and then I watched Oprah's Sound of Music reunion show...

If Kara wasn't sure about this new gig before, the whistle sealed the deal.

She stared with wide eyes as her new employer, Captain Lee Adama held the shiny metal object to his lips and blew. Three sharp, shrill bleats echoed through the cavernous marble foyer of his mansion and footfalls sounded on the landing above her.

She twisted, holding the straw-brimmed hat to her skull, and watched seven stone-faced children march in precise military time down the steps to line up before them. From the eldest, a stunning girl with her father's eyes and dark hair, to the youngest, a tiny girl, no more than 5 or 6, with lighter tangled curls, the four girls and three boys stood in a perfect line, shoulders thrown back, chin raised, eyes forward.

The Captain's crisp tone broke the silence. "Now Fraulein--"

"Kara," she corrected absently, her eyes still surveying the children. She thought she caught one of the boys-- one of the shorter ones in the middle--sneak a sideways glance her way, his lip quirking slightly.

The Captain cleared his throat. "Fraulein, you will do me the courtesy of meeting my eyes when I speak with you."

Kara's spine stiffened at the reprimand, but she grit her teeth and reminded herself that this was her employer, her superior. And even if he behaved like a superior jackass, the Reverend Mother would not look kindly on her gracing him with a right hook. She turned to him then, eyes locking on his cool blue gaze without flinching, and though not a hair of his brows lifted, Kara sensed surprise in his gaze. Perhaps he was not used to anyone looking him in the eye. Kara raised her chin, shoulders squaring, as something silent and electric passed between them.

"You were saying, Captain?"

He stared back silently for another few seconds and when he spoke it was almost as if he'd forgot something. "Yes. Yes, As I was saying... You will be the twelfth governess to look after my children since their mother died. I trust you'll be an improvement on the last one."

At Kara's questioning look, he said with just the slighest hint of wryness in his voice, "She lasted only two hours."

Kara felt queasy. Was she crazy? Why had she told the abbess she could do this? She didn't even like kids! The horror in her voice was barely veiled when she asked, "What's wrong with the children, sir?"

He looked at her sharply, his tone impatient when he answered, "Nothing is wrong with the children, only the governesses." The Captain took a deep breath, his snug blue uniform jacket expanding with the inhale. He cut a fine figure indeed. Too bad the man had not a whit of humor in that stunning physique. "They could not maintain discipline, without which the house cannot be run. Drill them in their studies. I will not permit them to dream away their summer holidays. Each afternoon, they march, breathing deeply. Bedtime is to be strictly observed."

Cripes, Kara thought, this was worse than a military academy. She bet he made them do pushups when they misbehaved. Fed up, she interrupted his litany of orders. "Sir!" He turned at her sharp tone. "When do they play?"

Kara Thrace, formerly known as the problem novice at the Sacred Heart Abbey, had received more than her fair share of whithering looks in her lifetime. But they all paled in comparison to the one Captain Lee Adama was flashing at her now. His lip curled in a near-sneer. "You will see to it that they conduct themselves with the utmost decorum. I am placing you in command."

Her hand lifted automatically to her forehead, half into the motion of snapping off a salute, before one of the children twittered and Kara dropped her arm. "Yes, sir."

to be continued in part two!

Re: My Favorite Things, Part 2, Comment!fic

[callmeonetrack.livejournal.com]

His eyes found hers again in a measuring gaze, as if he was trying to assess whether she was mocking him or not. Kara smiled, to show she'd meant no real offense, but he just turned away, his gaze returning to the children. "Now. . . this is your new governess, Fräulein," there was an infinitesmal pause before he said her name, "Kara. Give your name at your signal."

He lifted that infernal whistle again and tilted his head toward Kara. "Fräulein, listen carefully. Learn their signals so you can call them."

In rapid-fire sequence, the children marched forward precisely one step, shouted their name, and stepped back. Liesl. Friedrich. Louisa. Kurt. Brigitta. Marta.
And Gretl.

Captain Adama turned back to her, a challenging look on that pretty but smug face of his. "Now, let's see how well you listened." He lifted the whistle again and she grabbed his wrist. The Captain froze and Kara dropped her hand quickly, realizing she'd committed a faux pas in touching him. Flustered, both by the tingle in her fingers at the feel of his skin, and by the idea of what the Abbess would say if she'd been party to this meeting thus far, Kara hastened to say her peice.

"I won't need to whistle for them, Reverend--" she shook her head, correcting herself, "Captain. I mean, I'll use their names. Such lovely names." Kara turned to the children and recited each of the seven names in turn, smiling when she was finished.

Next to her, the captain stiffened and a truculent impatience had crept into his voice. "Fräulein, this is a large house. The grounds are extensive. And I will not have anyone shouting." He held the tin whistle up. "You will take this, please. Learn to use it."

She hesitated, even though it was clearly an order issuing from her new employer's lips. He softened a milimeter at her obvious reluctance. "The children will help you. Now, when I want you, this is what you will hear."

"Oh, no!"

His eyes widened at her outburst. But Kara's temper had been raised. The children were bad enough, but she did not have the misfortune of being this man's blood relative and she had no intention of being summoned like a dogsbody.

"I'm sorry, sir! I could never answer to a whistle. Whistles are for animals, not for children. And definitely not for me. It's humiliating!" Her tone was too harsh, she knew, and she could feel her cheeks hot with temper but Kara didn't care. This was too much.

The Captain did not respond with anger, as she'd expected, however. Instead, he raised a single eyebrow, his tone a familiar mixture of amusement and frustration. "Fräulein, tell me, were you this much trouble at the abbey?"

Kara smiled sweetly. "Oh, much more, sir."

He held her eyes for another moment, then the captain's gaze slid, so rapidly that if you blinked you might miss it, down her body and back up in a definitive once over. A shiver prickled her spine, but he pivoted then in his shiny boots, his footsteps echoing on the marble floor in the subsequent silence.

Kara looked to the children, who were still standing in formation, but whom abandoned the eyes-forward pose to let their gazes dart between her and their father. Poor things. Dressed almost as if in uniform themselves, no time to play. Why, the abbey was less restrictive than this household! And her, the twelfth governess. Probably all eleven before her had used the damned whistle. If she wanted to keept his job, she had to get them on her side. Show them she was different.

Inspired, a smirk crept on to Kara's face, and she called out to the master of the house just before he passed the threshold into his study. "Sir! I don't know your signal!"

He froze. The children gasped. Kara grinned.

He didn't turn; The words came out strained. "You may call me 'Captain.'" Then Captain Lee Adama marched forward into the study and slammed the door behind him.


(to be continued...at a later date!)

Re: My Favorite Things, Comment!fic

[ninjamonkey73.livejournal.com]

Comment!fic FTW! And here's your cookie:

That deserves a Manip!

[kag523.livejournal.com]

(http://s931.photobucket.com/albums/ad159/kag523/No%20Takebacks/?action=view&current=vontrapp.jpg)

Awesome, Tara!

Re: That deserves a Manip!

[kdbleu.livejournal.com]

Kara even makes the Maria facial expressions. Hee

Re: That deserves a Manip!

[callmeonetrack.livejournal.com]

Lol. MANIPS FREAK ME OUT!! Hee. This is one of my favorite scenes in the movie. ♥

Re: That deserves a Manip!

[ninjamonkey73.livejournal.com]

I <3 my fandom sooo much! That is all.

Re: That deserves a Manip!

[amaliak.livejournal.com]

This.

I don't know why the idea of Lee wearing white gloves makes me have naughty thoughts. ;P

cheers.
--Lex

[amaliak.livejournal.com]

(My original comment disappeared. Technology!Fail)
My fav alternate universe pilots are Star Wars!Pilots. :)
But I really like the idea of Spy!Pilots. I actually wrote a story for taragel but it's not typed up. Tara, do you want me to just snap photos of my journal? Hee.

Teacher!Pilots is also awesome. Think about it! Inner city high school, Lee teaches Civics, Kara teaches Physics. Can't you see them breaking up fights, strategizing in the ready room teacher's lounge, reporting to Principal Adama and Vice Principal Tigh? Dude, Tyrol is the gym teacher. And Baltar is the English teacher. OMG THIS MIGHT EAT MY BRAIN.

Hee. Great prompt!
cheers.
--Lex

[aurora-0811.livejournal.com]

You crack me up bb. I can see Ellen Tigh as the Sex Ed. teacher that creepily eyes all the senior boys. You should run with your idea!

[callmeonetrack.livejournal.com]

YOU WROTE SPY PILOTS!! I WANT!! ♥

Oops I got all excited, just adding that Queen of Thorns is supposed to write us Kara and Lee as teachers in her Cyllon High (Friday Night Lights crossover) series!!

[kdbleu.livejournal.com]

Teacher!Pilots is also awesome. Think about it! Inner city high school, Lee teaches Civics, Kara teaches Physics. Can't you see them breaking up fights, strategizing in the ready room teacher's lounge, reporting to Principal Adama and Vice Principal Tigh? Dude, Tyrol is the gym teacher. And Baltar is the English teacher. OMG THIS MIGHT EAT MY BRAIN.

This is fantastic! Sam could be the football coach, chasing Kara around. Ellen would make a great daffy, drunk Home Ec. teacher

[ninjamonkey73.livejournal.com]

I keep thinking that Boomer is a Math teacher in this world.

Aaaaand, I keep thinking about a manip with Kara and Lee flying X-Wings and being all Rebel Alliance. Would Lee be a Jedi like his father before him?

[rayruz.livejournal.com]

I want this so hard.

Because you love Star Wars.

[kag523.livejournal.com]

This is not new, but I really have been wasting a LOT of time already, so I'm rehashing. Enjoy!

(http://s931.photobucket.com/albums/ad159/kag523/No%20Takebacks/?action=view&current=Starwars.jpg)

[eridani8.livejournal.com]

Though not completely AU, I would love to read a story where our pilots find themselves stuck on Caprica during the nuclear holocaust, a la the C-Buc's resistance. Maybe on a camping trip, or holidaying away from the main cities? I reckon the two of them could run a pretty awesome terrorist/ guerilla group.

[callmeonetrack.livejournal.com]

Ooh that would be interesting. I wonder how they would meet up? My guess is they'd be doing different things at first...

[kdbleu.livejournal.com]

I really like this idea. Hmm.

[ddt73.livejournal.com]

An idea for a crossover I would like to see is with Blue Bloods the new cop show on CBS. The show shows a family which has for several generations been cops in NYC. The show has quickly become a favorite of mine.

Since Jamie and Katee are both playing cops these days, it was not too hard to imagine them in a show like this. I can see Joseph Adama as the retired cop, Adama as chief of police, I see Kara playing "Danny" Reagan (though she'd be Danielle instead of Daniel hehe :P)

Danny is a cop who will play loose with the rules when necessary like when he beat up a child abductor who won't let him know where he had hid a young girl. I can so see Kara being that kind of detective. I don't see Lee being as loose and free with the rules. Though Daniel is a Reagen by birth, so not sure how how to handle that here.

There's not a clear cut role for Lee here, there's a younger Reagen who was studying to be a lawyer, but decided he wanted to be a cop instead. He seems to be an idealist. The character is too young to be Lee though, perhaps instead of youngest Reagen he can made older to make it fit. There was also another brother who was killed in line of duty (Zak).

Looks like I'm writing another novel again lol. I've been doing that lately. (looks around for Kag) ;)

In summary with some tweaking and juggling around Blue Bloods can be a BSG AU.

[kdbleu.livejournal.com]

Oh, I like this AU.

You don't want Kara and Lee to end up brother and sister though. That's no good. I enjoy but am not familiar enough with Blue Bloods to be any more help though. ;)

[eridani8.livejournal.com]

oh dear, here's one for the crack!fic bin:

Has anyone else seen the Horatio Hornblower series? It's an early BBC production in which Jamie Bamber played a British naval officer during the Napoleonic Wars. Anyway, was totally thinking that Starbuck would make an awesome pirate...

[ninjamonkey73.livejournal.com]

I've been trying to find a way to believably put her in that world, but I just can't do it. The expectations of women (seen not heard) of that time period bum me out. Although the pirate angle is VERY nice. :)

[lotus79.livejournal.com]

I am late to the party b/c I never have time to join in these things on weekdays :(

However I once (bored at work before half the workforce resigned and it got crazy!insane) plotted out how I'd slot the BSG cast into various Shakespeare plays. I did Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing and Richard III (for that I had Zarek as Richard, Kara as Richmond and Lee as Princess Elizabeth. Also Roslin was King Ed and Billy as Clarence)

[(Anonymous)]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned leiascully's AU:New York series yet...Lee and Kara in modern day New York and they have NO IDEA of their past lives...I love love love that series, it's a great twist on them and I love the idea that they get another go around in the future. I don't know the link but it's on leiascully's livejournal page and you can find it in her fic index. It's still a work in progress and there are several chapters up so far including some Bill/Laura chapters.

[scifishipper.livejournal.com]

Oh, I don't think anyone ever forgets that! I don't think this was a fics rec post, that's all. If I'm remembering correctly, that fic was just nominated a few weeks ago for a Pilots Oscar award. That is a super popular series and we are all eagerly awaiting more. :)