DPP: Historical pilots

[lizziec]

Hello everyone :) So yesterday we looked at the neuroses, psychoses and maladies of Pilots and those around them. Today's DPP is Historical Pilots (hello, still marking history exams!). I'm pretty sure we've had this one recently, but I swear it was in my calendar before the post in question and as I'm rather in love with the idea, it stays ;)

Which historical period would you place our pilots in? How would they get on there? Would they do a similar sort of job to the one they do in the colonial fleet? How would the constraints of the time affect them?

For example, I could kind of see them in World War Two. Lee would, of course, be a fighter pilot and I imagine Kara working for the Air Transport Auxiliary (yay! a flying job for women in World War II), accidentally coming across a dogfight and saving Lee's skin with some awesome manoeuvre. Or Kara coming up with some way to disguise herself to join the air force proper :)

And if Lee existed in the Napoleonic Wars times I could see him being a Hornblower type - duty and loyalty and sometimes doing the right thing even if it's not exactly straight (like pushing the captain down into the hold). Which leads my brain to wonder if Lee was Hornblower, would Archie be friends with him and still die to protect him as he did in Hornblower (Retribution?) first by taking bullet and then by claiming that Hornblower's crime was his own as he was going to die anyway. Oh god my brain...</sidetrackking tangent>

Feel free to drabble or just throw out there/discuss your thoughts on our pilots in Earth's history :D

Comments

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

I love reading historical AUs; I don't know of all that many in this fandom, but maybe some of our history buffs will write more for us! :)

Just for fun, I wrote some (barely researched) historical drabbles myself a few months ago: Five histories and one present (http://rachelindeed.livejournal.com/10716.html).

Wisteria once wrote a beautiful drabble setting Kara and Lee (Karla and Josef) in Germany during the Third Reich - I can't find the link to it, but I'll keep looking.

Your entry (with "The Great Escape" soundtrack) makes me wish for that particular AU. Can't you see Lee devising ingenious ways to hide the dirt from the tunnels they're digging? Kara in hack bouncing the pyramid ball? Kara jumping the motorcycle? And the daring night of the escape: "Brace yourself, Adama, you're twenty feet short." Tyrol could be the claustrophobic Tunnel King. I like it.

:)

[lizziec]

They did not, however, include the typical compliment: “demure.”

Giggling at the thought of anyone even thinking of calling Kara "demure" :D

I loved them all :)

Wisteria once wrote a beautiful drabble setting Kara and Lee (Karla and Josef) in Germany during the Third Reich - I can't find the link to it, but I'll keep looking.

Ooh, please do because that sounds like a really interesting concept :)

Your entry (with "The Great Escape" soundtrack) makes me wish for that particular AU.

That didn't even occur to me when I first typed this entry but now I wonder how I could have missed it - it's almost too perfect. You have all the roles there down to a t, but especially Kara's. It's just so her.

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Ahah! Victory is mine:

Klara and Josef drabble (http://users.livejournal.com/wisteria_/1003615.html#cutid3) by wisteria.

[lizziec]

Wow, thanks for finding it :D

I really like that scenario. And how like Kara to say what she thought regardless of the danger and consequences.

[anastashial.livejournal.com]

That whole set is quite nice.

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it is. In addition to her powerful (often break-your-heart-in-two) long stories, wisteria has actually written quite a lot of fun drabbles. It's worth clicking on the "drabble" tag on her LJ, there's more cool stuff in there :)

[kdbleu.livejournal.com]

I have a secret desire to write a Lee and Kara as Bonnie and Clyde AU. I can totally see my gun toting, mussed suit wearing Lee with Kara whining about having to repair their stolen get away cars. :)

[lizziec]

That would be awesome. I can absolutely see it. Though if Pilots were Bonnie and Clyde I'm not at all convinced they'd have died as they did - could you see Kara and Lee walkingdriving in to an ambush? Though seeing them go out in a hail of bullets together wouldn't be any worse than what Canon does to them ;)

[kdbleu.livejournal.com]

Though seeing them go out in a hail of bullets together wouldn't be any worse than what Canon does to them ;)

Actually I wouldn't have minded a canon ending that had Lee and Kara go out in a hail of bullets kind of fitting actually. My beef with the poof is more about shoddy writing and abandoning Lee than it does about a 'happy ending'. If Lee had also been dead, Kara going 'poof' would have been much less painful.

Although I agree that I can't imagine them driving into an ambush. Not unless they wanted to. ;)

[lizziec]

Actually I wouldn't have minded a canon ending that had Lee and Kara go out in a hail of bullets kind of fitting actually

Yes, I've always thought so - I kept saying on Monday's DPP comments that I would prefer that Kara's death, and Lee's presumed death were more meaningful. I could have lived with meaningful deaths.

Although I agree that I can't imagine them driving into an ambush. Not unless they wanted to. ;)

I can't help thinking that even if they did end up in an ambush Kara'd pull some crazy manoeuvre and they'd escape anyway. Maybe they'd drive into the ambush to liven up a boring afternoon? ;)

[onlyariana.livejournal.com]

Actually I wouldn't have minded a canon ending that had Lee and Kara go out in a hail of bullets kind of fitting actually.

Right, that would've been great. I can see the look when they realize that this is IT. A bit of a smile, a small nod of the head and then the same thing they always do, fight them until they can't. That's a hero's ending for both of them. Which is fitting because they were the action heroes of the series.

[winegums.livejournal.com]

I choose to see Daybreak, Part 2 as affirmation that pilots were EPIC and went far, far beyond the usual clichés attached to fandom ships from the moment they set eyes on each other. And no one is going to convince me otherwise.

That final scene in the field would have been flat as hell on paper. But what left me convinced that despite its ending, it really was pilots all the way, was the look on Kara's face when she realised she was about to poof - she didn't look happy, she looked heartbroken. I always thought the lack of a proper goodbye was because she didn't trust herself to hold it together in front of Lee the way she did in front of Bill. It wasn't because he didn't mean enough to her, it was because he meant too much.

*sigh* I wouldn't have minded them going down together, either. But I'll take whatever tiny scraps of consolation I can dredge up from canon/make up in my head, especially since pilots have RUINED me for any other ship, ever.

[amaliak.livejournal.com]

Don't forget going down in a blaze of glory and SUPER cons and heists and getaway situations.

YES. PLEASE.

cheers.
--Lex

[kdbleu.livejournal.com]

Cons and heists are a must!

Plus Kara dressed like Fay Dunaway from the movie! And Lee in a hat! With guns!!!
(There is nothing not good here.)

(http://s241.photobucket.com/albums/ff171/katebleu/?action=view&current=BC.jpg)

[howlinchickhowl.livejournal.com]

Oh they would sooo rock this look! The Beret! The guns! It's an absolute must. A MUST. Please do this :)

P.S. How gorgeous was Faye Dunaway in that movie? I mean, look at her!

[workerbee73.livejournal.com]

P.S. How gorgeous was Faye Dunaway in that movie? I mean, look at her!

Yes. Yes she is. An absolute style icon in that film.

[kdbleu.livejournal.com]

I went through a big fay as Bonnie/Annie Hall style period in high school. Berets! Scarves! Vest! What is not to love.

[workerbee73.livejournal.com]

Quite right. It's a fabulous look. : )

[winegums.livejournal.com]

OOOOH, I know EXACTLY the time period and story for them!!!! That is, if you can take a tiny element of AU fantasy creeping into the mix, and it's really imagining pilots into another fandom - the Napoleonic wars, as retold in Naomi Novik's Temeraire series (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Temeraire-k-His-Majestys-Dragon/dp/0007258712/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1308776654&sr=1-1).

Short description: it's like Hornblower with dragons. Specifically, with dragons forming an air force.(you see WHY it's perfection, now?)

Oh, and better yet, the deadliest acid-spitting dragons in the English Air Corps will only accept female captains (EVEN BETTER, DO YOU SEE WHAT I'M SEEING HERE?) , who wear men's clothes and serve in absolute secrecy because it'd cause a scandal if the public ever found out about women fighting, when the women in question are every bit as jockish and badass as the men, and occasionally wear their hair cropped short like a certain Viper pilot we all know.

[lizziec]

That series sounds amazing. I may have to see whether or not KCC libraries stock them (or risk ordering from amazon... I'm always scared of doing that because it tends to expand and then I end up spending £manylots). The way you describe it I could totally see pilots in those roles. It's possibly the most perfect fit for Kara ever (she'd essentially be the same person... but on Dragons).

O/T: Would you mind if I add you as a friend? :)

[winegums.livejournal.com]

I know, Kara would be so at home in this story, right? Better yet, the aviators usually work their way up the chain of command so Kara and Lee could totally be lieutenants together if they were assigned to the same dragon, or Kara ends up as Lee's first lieutenant for a while (and they could well be part of the American Air Corps, too, if we want our accents kept straight).

If you're getting any of the books, try the first two, they're totally worth it. And I don't mind friending at all, though my journal contains fuck-all :).

[winegums.livejournal.com]

Oh, and because they often command 20+ tons of flying beast, the aviators in Temeraire, let's say, don't really live by normal social rules (i.e. no one has to get married, and if there are babies they've got a place in the Air Corps one day instead of being ostracised for being illegitimate).

I will add, Jamie Bamber is exactly the person who came to my mind for the role of the series human protagonist, a blond ex-Navy captain who's very sweet and proper and ethical like a certain other Viper pilot we all know, but I'd so much rather see Lee and Kara in that story, it would fit them beautifully if we get our heads around the idea that they're flying dragons instead of Vipers.

[lizziec]

the aviators in Temeraire, let's say, don't really live by normal social rules (i.e. no one has to get married, and if there are babies they've got a place in the Air Corps one day instead of being ostracised for being illegitimate).

\o/

if we get our heads around the idea that they're flying dragons instead of Vipers.

I don't find that too much of a stretch actually :)

[winegums.livejournal.com]

Well, it's more like all aviators are looked down on in England because people are scared of their dragons and think they're a necessary evil (this without even knowing that there are girl aviators!) but they kind of live out in Scotland and do their own thing and don't really care.

And I'd like to see Kara flying a dragon, and developing a relationship with one even (dragons and their captains tend to get very close). Like I said, it's perfect for them.

[howlinchickhowl.livejournal.com]

hmmmmm....interesting question....

ooh! I think it would be cool to have them in Louisiana or Chicago during Prohibiton, Kara could run booze and Lee could be a public prosecutor who's a stick in the mud but who also likes to listen to Jazz, and they could spat and banter and be adorable. Yeah, that would be cool...

[lizziec]

Hee, I can kind of see them in those roles. Would Lee know about Kara's booze running and turn a blind eye because it's her?

[howlinchickhowl.livejournal.com]

I like to think he would, or maybe it would be the kind of situation where he'd know about it but wouldn't be able to prove it, and also doesn't really try so hard because she's a sassy broad and he appreciates a dame with spunk.

[kdbleu.livejournal.com]

Or would he turn a blind eye because he likes a good drink. ;)

[howlinchickhowl.livejournal.com]

hee, I think he likes a good drink, AND a sassy broad, those two combined would be hard to pass up I think. Especially if she's also hosting a weekly poker game like I suspect she might be. He's a stick-in-the-mud with a dark side :D

[kdbleu.livejournal.com]

This is starting to shape up to be a pretty good story. hee.

[howlinchickhowl.livejournal.com]

hmmm....now if only we could find someone who was willing to write it...*bats eyelashes in an irresistable manner*

Yes? :D

[kdbleu.livejournal.com]

Well, I can add it to the list, but the list is not short. ;)

[howlinchickhowl.livejournal.com]

Is the list a piece of string? Don't worry about it if you don't want to do it, it's just I want someone to do it! If you did want to add it to the list, well, I'm a patient woman :)

[winegums.livejournal.com]

Oooooh, YES. Prohibition-era booze-running Kara is such a perfect idea..they'd be like Spencer Tracey and Katharine Hepburn with the bantering.

I'd also like to send them to New Orleans in the past, I've never been but it seems like the kind of city that might make a huge impression on Lee if he was an outsider and Kara lived there. I like your Chicago 1920s idea better, though - it seems more plausible for them.

[howlinchickhowl.livejournal.com]

It sounds awesome right? :) I think Chicago IS the better idea because it was a much more conventional town than New Orleans, I feel like Kara would get more of a kick breaking the rules there, and Lee would fit in a lot better. Also there was a lot more violent crime I think around that time in Chicago than New Orleans, and that could lead to some interesting situations for pilots to be in.

[winegums.livejournal.com]

Actually, just chuck the New Orleans thing - Chicago it is!

Besides, bantery pilots in the 1920s feel so like a possibility. And I can totally see pilots getting into some sticky situations and getting out of them together, esp. with Lee possibly being a war vet who might or might not have PTSD.

[howlinchickhowl.livejournal.com]

NEW ORLEANS BE DAMNED!!

I like the PTSD idea, I was thinking maybe he'd have a secret drinking problem because of his daddy issues (you know he has daddy issues), but the PTSD is good also.

[winegums.livejournal.com]

Yeah, New Orleans was a half-assed idea, haha. But I can totally see Lee as a stressed-out war vet (perhaps even an early WWI ace?) with daddy issues - MAJOR daddy issues and lots of repression.

I love AU pilots.

[workerbee73.livejournal.com]

I think the great thing about those two is that they would work anywhere. For me, it's about the dynamic (and the baggage and the history and the connection, etc.) and that can come across in just about any setting. It's why I'm such a fan of AUs. You can pick ant time and place, but if the characters are done right, it rings just as true as if it was lodged in canon.

**snuggles AU**

[callmeonetrack.livejournal.com]

Lately, because of the discussions about their part of BSG being "Kara's story told by Lee", I was thinking of The Great Gatsby. Kara as the dazzling Daisy, Lee as Nick the narrator who yearns....