They Have History
Sep. 20th, 2011 08:07 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
scifishipper.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no_takebacks
YOUR PERSONAL PILOTS BACKSTORY
It's time to dig into your head!canon about the events that take place before the series. For the themes and/or questions below, tell us your head!canon. Doesn't matter if it's the same as someone else's because I think everyone's way of thinking about pilots gives a new perspective. And it does not have to fit in canon or even be all that realistic. Just go for it!
If you don't have a personal head!canon (even though I think everyone does to some extent), rec a fic that tells an element of their backstory in a way that you like (or has become your head!canon). If it's a multi-chapter fic, reccing a specific chapter would be great, as I think we've all probably read just about everything.
If you are so inclined, write a fic that shows us. *bribes your muse*
I've grouped the themes and questions into comments below - reply to those to keep things vaguely organized so we can all discuss. I'm excited to read everyone's theories and I hope fic will be inspired along the way!
WISHLIST UPDATE
The time for making a wish has passed, but there are many wishes left to be granted. GO HERE to make someone's wish come true!
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
FAMILY HISTORY - LEE
Date: 2011-09-20 12:08 pm (UTC)What was Lee's relationship like with Carolanne?
How did Bill and Carolanne's relationship affect Lee? Is that reflected later in his relationship choices?
FAMILY HISTORY - KARA
Date: 2011-09-20 12:09 pm (UTC)What were the circumstances that led to Kara's father leaving?
How did Kara respond to Socrata's relationship with Dreilide?
EDUCATION/CAREER - LEE
Date: 2011-09-20 12:10 pm (UTC)Being the son of the famous Husker, how did Lee cope with being a cadet at the Academy?
what kind of job did Lee have after active duty when he was in the Reserves?
EDUCATION/CAREER - KARA
Date: 2011-09-20 12:11 pm (UTC)What was Kara's first job?
Why did Kara join the military? Did she consider other things?
What were Kara's struggles at the Academy? What were her successes?
RELATIONSHIPS/SEX - LEE
Date: 2011-09-20 12:12 pm (UTC)What was Lee's relationship with Gianne? What's your head!canon about the pregnancy?
RELATIONSHIPS/SEX - KARA
Date: 2011-09-20 12:13 pm (UTC)What kinds of people did Kara date before Zak?
ZAK - KARA/LEE
Date: 2011-09-20 12:13 pm (UTC)How were Kara and Lee individually informed of Zak's death?
How did Kara and Lee interact during and right after the funeral?
What did Lee do in the two years after the accident?
Why didn't pilots see each other for two years?
BONUS QUESTION
Date: 2011-09-20 12:14 pm (UTC)Re: ZAK - KARA/LEE
Date: 2011-09-20 12:34 pm (UTC)One quirk, btw, of the betrothal rite as practiced in the Temple of Aphrodite is that it does not involve vows of fidelity. This is one reason why Zak and Kara chose to have their betrothal there, rather than in the Temple of Artemis - Zak always sort of knew that if Kara made a vow of fidelity she'd break it, and he figured he'd rather not have it as part of the betrothal to begin with. Lee would've had no way of knowing that, though, and if he had found out he just would've thought it was strange.
2. Lee prayed to the Lords of Kobol in a vague sort of way up until Zak's death, at which point he gave up on them because he couldn't even try to believe anymore.
3. After the Table Incident, Kara and Lee had sex two times while Zak was alive. Both were a result of running into each other when Zak wasn't around. Zak knew and was somewhat grumbly about it - he could be ok with Kara having lovers, but his own brother was something else. Eventually Kara decided to stop, mostly because she had already made a commitment to Zak. And Lee decided to stop, because it violated his principles too much. Both think they each ended the relationship over the other's protests.
4. They didn't see each other because Kara became very close to Bill, and Lee couldn't handle that. Lee was also filled with guilt for having had a secret relationship with Kara behind his brother's back, and that guilt became worse once Zak was dead and there was no longer any way to apologize or try to fix the relationship.
Re: RELATIONSHIPS/SEX - KARA
Date: 2011-09-20 12:37 pm (UTC)Re: ZAK - KARA/LEE
Date: 2011-09-20 12:41 pm (UTC)I don't care what RDM says - Lee and Kara moved past the table. The fact they did is pretty much early canon - they clearly had days out with each other and Zak, and their relationship in the mini and s1 speaks of a much more rounded relationship than just that night at the table. So my head canon says that they grew to be close friends who enjoyed their relationship and able to keep a lid on whatever other feelings they may have had for one another.
How were Kara and Lee individually informed of Zak's death?
Kara was at the academy on the day of the accident and so heard of the accident and Zak's death through the grapevine there. I'm not sure that anyone there would have known about their relationship, so in my head the blow is never cushioned, because no one knows that it needs to be.
With Lee I tend to oscillate more - I think he was either told by an officer from the military in person, or informed by a phone call from one of his parents.
How did Kara and Lee interact during and right after the funeral?
Mutual support born of shared experiences and guilt in the early days, though Kara clearly had more guilt than Lee. There was also an awful lot of drinking.
What did Lee do in the two years after the accident?
I think he grit his teeth and tried to get through his period of service with the fleet. In my head he's becoming increasingly disillusioned with the fleet and just wants to get his service over and done with, with the minimum fuss.
Why didn't pilots see each other for two years?
In my head, it all comes down to hurt and misunderstandings. Kara is always carrying the guilt for what happened to Zak, while Lee is getting more and more disillusioned with the Fleet. On top of that, Kara accepts a posting to Galactica, and I think that Lee would take that as something of a betrayal, because of his immense anger and hurt against his father. I think that Kara accepting that posting would cause something of a schism between pilots. Kara may not know everything from Lee's past with his father, but I think she knows enough that Lee would feel frustrated and betrayed that Kara would choose to serve with Bill.
Re: RELATIONSHIPS/SEX - LEE
Date: 2011-09-20 12:52 pm (UTC)Ugh. A lot of the time I have trouble accepting in my head that Gianne happened. This isn't because I'm necessarily opposed to Gianne as a character, or Lee's relationship with her as having happened, but because if Lee lost his pregnant girlfriend in the attacks it should have come up before the midpoint of s2 - it all comes down to bad storytelling for me really.
Having said that, when my head accepts that Gianne happened, it tends to assume that the argument over the pregnancy came immediately before Lee shipped out to Galactica, so they never had a chance to make it up, though I think they would have had at least one discussion once Lee got back, because the length of a pregnancy is a long time to not talk again at all. The pregnancy itself was an accident, and the relationship was already on the rocks before it happened. I think that Lee genuinely cared about Gianne, but that he didn't love her.
Re: FAMILY HISTORY - KARA
Date: 2011-09-20 01:10 pm (UTC)Re: RELATIONSHIPS/SEX - LEE
Date: 2011-09-20 01:15 pm (UTC)As for Lee's virginity? I think he dated a pretty and kind girl for a couple of months and then when she turned sixteen, too, (the age he'd determined was old enough for that kind of thing), Lee took her to his bedroom and they made awkward but sweet sweet love. I would also say it might have been the first time Lee lied to his parents about what he was doing and where he was. (His parents were out and not expected back until dinner, so Lee lied and told them he was staying after school for debate club.) He decided it was worth it, although he felt slightly guilty for a while.
Re: FAMILY HISTORY - LEE
Date: 2011-09-20 01:30 pm (UTC)What kind of sibling relationship did Lee and Zak have?
I think it was a very close relationship, and that Lee felt very protective towards Zak, and I think it is all because of what was going on with their parents. I could even see Lee attempting to become as much of a parent towards Zak as he was a brother once his father leaves and his mother starts drinking, because someone would need to fill that void.
What was Lee's relationship like with Carolanne?
This is another relationship I feel maybe flipped after Bill left and Carolanne started drinking. I think that as she coped less and less, he tried to step up as an adult more, and that there were times when he was more of a parent to her than she was to him because as the eldest he would have felt that he needed to step in to the void to keep his family together - or as together as he could.
I can't remember whether it was here or at
Re: ZAK - KARA/LEE
Date: 2011-09-20 01:38 pm (UTC)Re: RELATIONSHIPS/SEX - LEE
Date: 2011-09-20 01:54 pm (UTC)(Hee, okay no, I have no idea who she was, but that would be kind of funny. Lee having a long line of prostitute girlfriends.)
Re: RELATIONSHIPS/SEX - LEE
Date: 2011-09-20 02:17 pm (UTC)Re: RELATIONSHIPS/SEX - LEE
Date: 2011-09-20 02:29 pm (UTC)Re: FAMILY HISTORY - LEE
Date: 2011-09-20 02:41 pm (UTC)I've always thought that Zak looked up to and idolized Lee, but that the brothers probably never really had a close relationship. That Lee was enough older that they were on the verge of being able to become friends, but previously Zak held Lee in too high a regard and Lee saw Zak as just his little brother.
What was Lee's relationship like with Carolanne?
I actually think Lee was very protective of his mother who he saw as fragile and very much the victim in his parents' relationship. I have no doubt that she drank, but I think Lee's portrayal of his life as a child to his father was based on brutally falsifying his father's idealized version of the family he didn't know.
How did Bill and Carolanne's relationship affect Lee? Is that reflected later in his relationship choices?
The failed relationship of his parents made Lee cautious and almost cynical in relationships. I think he always secretly believed that all relationships fail eventually, likely because of him. I see Lee ass being very much the kind of kid who would take responsibility for his parents' divorce, like he wasn't good enough for his father to stay. :(
Re: RELATIONSHIPS/SEX - KARA
Date: 2011-09-20 02:47 pm (UTC)Kara grew up and took refuge in her pyramid team. She tried not to get too close to anyone because her home life was screwed up, but as a group they were great. She was a little wild and rushed into making out with boys pretty young and let people assume what they would. When she was 15 she and one of the wilder boys decided they should be the first ones to try sex. It was a little uncomfortable, but they got better at it. Kara broke his heart a little bit when she tried to insist it had been casual so he wouldn't come around her house. She slept with a fair number of friends and teammates and fellow officers and randos after that (including Helo at one point) but tried not to get too close.
Re: FAMILY HISTORY - KARA
Date: 2011-09-20 02:48 pm (UTC)I don't think Kara really knew her father, that he wasn't around enough even when her parents were married for her to really know him. I think Dreilide is mostly a figment of Kara's childhood imagination.
What were the circumstances that led to Kara's father leaving?
The reality of the vast differences between Dreilide and Socrata became too much for the relationship. Dreilide was Socrata's escape in Romanitcism and away from the horrors of her own life.
How did Kara respond to Socrata's relationship with Dreilide?
Her parents' relationship made Kara want relationship to be an escape but easy, not a relationship between people too different or a relationship too hard. I also think Kara works harder to stay in a relationship because her father left.
Re: RELATIONSHIPS/SEX - LEE
Date: 2011-09-20 02:51 pm (UTC)Re: ZAK - KARA/LEE
Date: 2011-09-20 02:58 pm (UTC)In essence, yes they slept together. Kara was given the news and had to deliver it to the rest of her nuggets. She and Lee do some grieving together...you can read for the rest of the details on what's in my brain :)
Re: ZAK - KARA/LEE
Date: 2011-09-20 02:59 pm (UTC)