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DPP, Day Three -- Out of Character?
Dec. 14th, 2011 12:10 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
workerbee73.livejournal.comAck! Oh Wednesday, why must you be so busy? Sorry I'm running late, y'all.
Today is all about challenging our assumptions. When it comes to pilots that is. So many times I'll be reading or thinking or dicussing something K/L-related and think "Oh that's defintiely Kara or definitely Lee or "no that doesn't feel right" or something will ping for me and I can't quite explain why. One thing that comes up over and over again when you ask people why they love certain fic or meta or whatever is that the characters feel right. But what does that really mean?
Today I want to look at the assumptions we make about pilots and deconstruct them a bit. Canon shapes some things and then there's a point where fanon (or fanon interpretation) kind of goes from there.
Today's Topic 'O the Day (tm) is simple-- Name a character assumption (or three or 27) and challenge it.
Not in a it's right or it's wrong and I'll meet you with pistols at dawn if you disagree kind of way, more in a let's see if we can get to the bottom of why we think this kind of way. I'm hoping it will jumpstart some good discussions. And of course, bring some fun to the table.
I'll kick things off with a few of my own:
1. Why is Lee always the neat and clean one?
The is something we see over and over again in fic and fanon (and Lord knows I do it too), but the only canon foundation I have for this is the conversation in Colonial Day when Lee teases Kara about her hygeine (or lack thereof). Which in fact is actually more about Kara. So why do we draw the implication that Lee is the opposite way?
2. Lee as Miss Rules and Regs.
I'm so bad about this one it isn't even funny, but the more I started thinking about it, I realized that he can be much more deviant than Kara when it comes to following (or not following) orders. Cutting deals with the likes of Tom Zarek and promising elections without authorization? Mutiny anyone? The whole sneak out and take pics of the resurrection ship without permission was his idea. And yes, Kara did run off to Caprica to get the arrow, but she was still following orders-- the President's orders. So how much is Lee actually the rebel and Kara much more the good soldier?
3. Kara as emotional (or not emotional).
This is a tough one for me, because I always feel like Kara keeps a very big wall around her emotions and hardly ever lets anyone know what she's really thinking or feeling. And so sometimes, in fic or discussions I get a little blindsided when she opens up, cries, expresses more emotion than I was prepared for. And I'm trying to figure out why this trips me up.
4. Kara as a hit-first-ask-questions-later kind of girl.
This is one I think can go either way, as our canon examples are pretty 50/50. Yes, she takes a swing at Tigh in the mini (after being provoked), and she also takes a swing at Lee in KLG1 (also after being provoked). She also goads Lee into a fight as a means of working out their issues (and also to assuage her guilt) in UB. But is this enough evidence to say she's just a hothead? Aside from direct provocations, I think she's very strategic in the way she uses violence. But again, I'm trying to articulate why I feel this way.
Okay. There's some stuff to get us started. Come on and bring some more to the table!
**holds out punch and pie enticingly**
Today is all about challenging our assumptions. When it comes to pilots that is. So many times I'll be reading or thinking or dicussing something K/L-related and think "Oh that's defintiely Kara or definitely Lee or "no that doesn't feel right" or something will ping for me and I can't quite explain why. One thing that comes up over and over again when you ask people why they love certain fic or meta or whatever is that the characters feel right. But what does that really mean?
Today I want to look at the assumptions we make about pilots and deconstruct them a bit. Canon shapes some things and then there's a point where fanon (or fanon interpretation) kind of goes from there.
Today's Topic 'O the Day (tm) is simple-- Name a character assumption (or three or 27) and challenge it.
Not in a it's right or it's wrong and I'll meet you with pistols at dawn if you disagree kind of way, more in a let's see if we can get to the bottom of why we think this kind of way. I'm hoping it will jumpstart some good discussions. And of course, bring some fun to the table.
I'll kick things off with a few of my own:
1. Why is Lee always the neat and clean one?
The is something we see over and over again in fic and fanon (and Lord knows I do it too), but the only canon foundation I have for this is the conversation in Colonial Day when Lee teases Kara about her hygeine (or lack thereof). Which in fact is actually more about Kara. So why do we draw the implication that Lee is the opposite way?
2. Lee as Miss Rules and Regs.
I'm so bad about this one it isn't even funny, but the more I started thinking about it, I realized that he can be much more deviant than Kara when it comes to following (or not following) orders. Cutting deals with the likes of Tom Zarek and promising elections without authorization? Mutiny anyone? The whole sneak out and take pics of the resurrection ship without permission was his idea. And yes, Kara did run off to Caprica to get the arrow, but she was still following orders-- the President's orders. So how much is Lee actually the rebel and Kara much more the good soldier?
3. Kara as emotional (or not emotional).
This is a tough one for me, because I always feel like Kara keeps a very big wall around her emotions and hardly ever lets anyone know what she's really thinking or feeling. And so sometimes, in fic or discussions I get a little blindsided when she opens up, cries, expresses more emotion than I was prepared for. And I'm trying to figure out why this trips me up.
4. Kara as a hit-first-ask-questions-later kind of girl.
This is one I think can go either way, as our canon examples are pretty 50/50. Yes, she takes a swing at Tigh in the mini (after being provoked), and she also takes a swing at Lee in KLG1 (also after being provoked). She also goads Lee into a fight as a means of working out their issues (and also to assuage her guilt) in UB. But is this enough evidence to say she's just a hothead? Aside from direct provocations, I think she's very strategic in the way she uses violence. But again, I'm trying to articulate why I feel this way.
Okay. There's some stuff to get us started. Come on and bring some more to the table!
**holds out punch and pie enticingly**
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