A word is worth a thousand pictures...

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Good morning, everyone! Today, I’d like to talk for a second about one of the things I find most challenging about writing: coming up with interesting descriptions. I’m not at all a copious writer, but even in my short stories, I’ve discovered that characters can always have different conversations, but they will essentially always look the same and they will have a limited repertoire of gestures and expressions. Finding new ways to describe them, both physically and emotionally, is a challenge, but it can also feel really rewarding to write something and think – ‘that’s really captured this person. I *saw* them in that line.’ So I would like to invite you all to think about your favorite striking little descriptions of Kara and Lee in fanfic, or meta, or in dialogue from the show itself. Share with us the lines that made you think – ‘That’s it. That sums up something about this person and/or this relationship concisely and beautifully.’ And if you are a writer yourself, could you choose one of your favorite descriptive lines, one that you’re proud to have written?

 

Here are just a few of the ones that have stuck with me:

Gesture that sums up Kara/Lee, from mercurial_wit’s “Amateur”:

“Briefing in five, Kara.” As Lee walks past his hand rests on her shoulder, just for a moment, and Anders doesn’t think she even realises that her own hand comes up in a silent tactile response, brushing the place where his fingers lay.

Character sketch that sums up Kara/Lee, from mercurial_wit’s “Our Pataphysical Divigation”:

“We’re fine, aren’t we?” he whispers, and relief falls over her face like a gush of water. All of a sudden it’s his best friend sitting there, not just Starbuck and not just the stripped-wire emotional tangle that is Kara Thrace. His roles are too big for him, but she could drown herself in hers, and he’s not going to let that happen.

Self-description that sums up something important about Lee, from settler’s “Polish the Stars”:

"I'm going to try not to be an ass. And when I fail and am anyway, I'm going to feel really, really bad."

Movements that tell a larger story, from CatsonMars’ “Aerilon Girls Are Easy”:

Once when the three of them went to a concert together, Kara was almost too exhausted to stay on her feet as they were slowly making their way out with the rest of the congested crowd after the show. At one point she sighed heavily and started to lean back against Lee without realizing it was him and not Zak standing directly behind her. He held her waist to steady her but then instantly drew his hands back away and said softly, "Teller," sounding just slightly uncomfortable, so that she blinked and stood up straight again.  It's me.

Careful.

~~

 

Comments

[nazkey.livejournal.com]

It's going to take forever for me to go through all the fics that I love to find the brilliant lines that are Just. Perfect. So I'll post on that tomorrow.

But, for me the quintessential K/L moment in the series where they are truly there, present, emotionally bare is the scene in the memorial hallway where Lee tells Kara that he's just Lee and she's just Kara and that's all that matters. For that all-too brief moment, all of their shit is set aside and they are in fact, just Kara & Lee.

[somethingusual.livejournal.com]

I find it's often a fine line between excellent description and it sounding too forced.

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

I agree. Part of why descriptions are usually the hardest part of my own writing is that it's very easy to overdo them. But on the other hand, you don't want to cut all the lyricism out of your own work, either. Sometimes you just have to trust that hopefully most of your readers will be willing to come with you to wherever you're trying to go. And often the lyrical descriptions that work best are the ones that the author has built up to by establishing that style of narration throughout the story.

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

What a lovely choice. I think most of this community would agree with you, there.

[shah-of-blah.livejournal.com]

One of my favorite descriptions of Kara is from daphnaea's The Strange Dividends of Parapraxis (http://daphnaea.livejournal.com/8100.html#cutid1):

It was at the moment that Kara spat, “Keep it,” and turned her back on him that Lee realized something was really wrong with her, something beyond her usual cocktail of smug insecurity and desperate megalomania. Her pyramid ball fell back into his hands and he squeezed it too hard, angry at her for somehow being the damaged one when his father was shot, when he’d been the one locked in a cell with blood still on his hands, when he’d been forced to choose between what he loved and what he believed in. And she’d managed to leave a traitor and return a hero, her tarnished halo glowing brighter than before.

I just love that phrase "her usual cocktail of smug insecurity and desperate megalomania."

[scifishipper.livejournal.com]

That's lovely. *saves fic to read later*

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

I second the 'lovely' verdict ~ what a great passage. Thanks for sharing it.

[callmeonetrack.livejournal.com]

I have to second the love for Daphnaea, just everything she ever writes sizes them up so completely for me, but really especially Kara. I'm not someone who is good at quoting things or even remembering them much long after I read them, but her fic just stays with me because she has such a powerful voice and wonderful insights.

Since we're being forced to choose here ;), I'll go with this paragraph about Kara from daphnaea's brilliant Anatomy of a Triangle (http://daphnaea.livejournal.com/7329.html#cutid1):

Kara has always believed in debts and obligations. For everything given, a sacrifice is due. Sometimes she feels like she’s still paying for the fact of having been born. She prays every day for the souls of comrades who died when she did not. She likes to say she’s alive because of luck or skill, but in her deepest heart she thinks it’s because she hasn’t yet settled her debts. According to this math, her relations with Lee ought to keep her breathing well into the next century, because of all the things she’s ever had, Adamas cost the most. She’s handed over her heart (more than once), her honor (such as it was), and she feels pieces of her soul tear away every time he touches her. She tries to balance what she owes him against what she owes Sam, the gods, the Fleet, a juggling act it’s possible to maintain only as long as she never quite thinks about it. It’s a long time before she stops to consider what she might owe to herself.

And this from leda13's Fearful Symmetry (http://leda13.livejournal.com/26457.html): You abandoned Vipers for things that crawl on the ground, you gave up everything you wanted for this lump of earth and a chance at as much happiness as you might possibly have earned. You pushed Lee away, so he wouldn't break. So now that's what you have: dust and death, because apparently that's what you deserve.

And the only thing that broke was you.


Another favorite Kara descriptor comes from a fic I can't recall. It's told from Anders' POV (at least partially) and it's an observation about Kara's penchant for bravado, something about how she wears her heart on her sleeve so openly and so often, that it takes time to realize she's shown you nothing of substance.

Lee stuff doesn't jump out at me as easily. I'll have to think on that.

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Gorgeous selections, thank you!

[scifishipper.livejournal.com]

I love this description of a haggard Lee in Home. It's from Lee and Kara, Kara and Lee (http://literarylemming.livejournal.com/194098.html) by literarylemming (Memosyne) I love how it evokes Lee by describing the differences Kara sees in him during this time in the show.

For the first time since setting foot on the Astral Queen, Kara let herself look – really look -- at Lee Adama, and what she saw wasn't pretty. Dark circles hung under his eyes, as much from stress and guilt as from lack of sleep. She could count on one hand the number of times she'd seen Lee with stubble, let alone any kind of substantial facial hair, and this was one of them. It made him look rough and harried, like some kind of wanton pirate. But that was nothing compared to seeing him out of uniform. She'd seen him in his off-duty gear before, but somehow Lee didn't seem like Lee without the promise of his crisp blue uniform or the slick material of his flight suit. He was wearing camouflage gear – no doubt scrounged from the Galactica -- and it just reinforced how much things had changed in the weeks she'd been gone.

For some reason that made her angry. Certain things weren't supposed to change. Lee was supposed to be the one who played by the book; she was supposed to be the troublemaker. He was supposed to be the one bailing her out of hack, not the one rebelling against authority and splitting the fleet in half. Just when the frak had the universe gone insane? Had it started with the attack on Caprica, or had it always been like this?

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

This is lovely ~ I especially like the association of Lee with his uniform; he does seem to inhabit those dress blues to a greater extent than other officers. I thought it was interesting that Ron Moore and Company said that when they put Lee in a suit at the end of Season Three it was like the character shifted in their heads and suddenly clicked. At times, the clothes may maketh the man :)

[nazkey.livejournal.com]

I just recently read Anatomy of a Triangle and you're absolutely right. daphnaea just nails it there. Great selections!

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

I just relocated this passage in the last chapter of shuchong's "Polish the Stars," and I love the conclusions Lee draws from observing Kara's physicality around him:

He reached up and touched her forehead and she winced a bit but didn't pull away. She used to be uncomfortable when he touched her, or when anyone touched her, really. She covered it up well though, by being quite willing to touch others. It seemed to be fine as long as she initiated contact, as long as she was in control. He traced her hairline, reveling in the fact that she was comfortable, that he was allowed. Then he let his hand drop, and tried not to think of the fact that she had probably never been touched as a child, except in anger, because thinking about it made him want to hurt someone, and Kara’s violent tendencies had already rubbed off on him a bit more than he would have liked, thank you very much.

She gave him one of those sideways looks again, and something clicked into place in Lee's brain. She was sweat-streaked, and bloody, and she smelled a bit, and she wasn't censoring her smirk or her remarks. Clearly, he wasn't the only one who had been thinking of why pilots didn't usually date. Everyone knew the reasoning: too close, knew each other too well, no mystery, no excitement, no romance. Kara was spending more and more time with him on the premise that if he knew her better he'd like her less. Kara was an idiot. Lee had figured that out already, of course, but this hammered it home. It was so monumental that he spent the rest of their study session distracted and out of focus. When Kara called him on it, he looked at her and gaped a bit, because he couldn't work out a way to tell her that he had just realized the full extent of her lunacy, and that smirking and sweating were not, in fact, the best way to get him to stop thinking about her in a romantic light.

[scifishipper.livejournal.com]

I LOVE that first paragraph - Lee's insight and fascination are lovely. And his anger about her childhood is heartbreaking. Gah. Thanks for this. :)

[nazkey.livejournal.com]

OMG, this is SO good. *bookmarks fic*

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

I love this fic deeply, but it is a bit difficult to get ahold of all its parts. The easiest way is to read all the posted chapters on fanfiction.net here:

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3539249/1/Polish_the_Stars

Then there are some more parts posted at different places on her LJ that never made it onto fanfiction.net. The chapters are numbered differently on her LJ, but the extra material starts toward the end of Part 8:

http://shuchong.livejournal.com/10237.html#cutid1

Part 9 has been sadly deleted, locked, or otherwise rendered unavailable, which is a shame. But as of now, Chapter 10 remains:

http://shuchong.livejournal.com/11974.html#cutid1

And that's all she wrote. I think the story's incomplete status (which, let's be honest, is never going to change at this point) and the difficulties in accessing the whole thing may have caused some shippers to skip it. But, like Kara herself, it is too wonderful to miss just because it comes with complications :) And the stopping point shuchong reached in the last posted chapter makes for a fine ending, in its own way.

[rdave1.livejournal.com]

I can't think of anything right now but the excerpts that have been mentioned are great. Now my reading has gotten a little longer but one can never have enough K/L fics.:)

I do enjoy reading their sideway glanced thoughts on each other, you know when the other doesn't know they are being watched. A silent observation.

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Lovely to hear from you! I like your phrase - "sideway glanced thoughts," that sums up what this post is all about :)

I love watching Kara and Lee watch each other, too. There are a few moments in the series when I can see them doing it, and I think to myself: "There is an entire story in that gaze." One of the moments on the show that struck me like that was the last scene between Kara and Lee in "Razor." They are being very restrained with each other, and the words coming out of their mouths are about parting and taking separate posts again. But I remember watching their faces and thinking, "You are *so* in love, this is ridiculous. It's written all over you!" Just look at them!:



This look is its own story.

[damao2010.livejournal.com]

It's been a busy week at work and I really don't have the time to go through my favorite fics to try to find any good quotes. But I have loved the ones you guys have suggested. More fic to read (or reread)... one day... *sighs and gets back to work*

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Sorry you are having a hectic week. Good luck with everything!

[scifishipper.livejournal.com]

I am not a fan of the dialogue in that scene, but I LOVE THEIR EXPRESSIONS and the comfort. I do love that Lee seems so relieved that he doesn't have to order her to die. This is a great cap of them. :D

[rdave1.livejournal.com]

Thanks, sweetie! It's has been nuts at work lately. I have always believed that Kara and Lee never needed words to communicate. They were always the best at eye frakking and had tons of those sideway glances just because they wouldn't allow themselves to admit was what there. Those few sideway glances full of love and hope and angst spoke volumes.

And yes, every one of those glances surely has a story of its own. Can you just imagine if we knew what they were thinking internally during those moments?

[rdave1.livejournal.com]

The dialogue wasn't the best but do you think they were masking their true relief or feelings about the whole thing with that dialogue?

[scifishipper.livejournal.com]

I think Kara made light of it in her usual fashion, but it must have been hard to make the decision to leave - especially without talking to Lee first. The show gives us such dribs and drabs - and this seems like such an important scene for them. The dialogue bit I dislike is Lee making light of trying to "get her killed" when he says "did you ever think you deserve it" - that's pretty OOC for him. He was really upset about giving that order and I think he wouldn't have taken her words so lightly. That said, there's an easiness about them together and I agree with that there is a lot of love in their expressions. I do think Lee was relieved, I just think they could've written a better scene. And how much do I love that she's waiting to see him outside Adama's office. Soooo great.

[utenatai.livejournal.com]

I am now off to read Anatomy of a Triangle. Thank you!

[callmeonetrack.livejournal.com]

Don't stop there. She's the total gold standard for K/L fics. Read everything she's got!

[rdave1.livejournal.com]

I do agree that Lee's comment about Kara deserving it came out of nowhere and it was so unlike Lee. But I wonder if he hadn't been able to process the fact that he had to give an order to end her life and then when Kara brushes it off, they just fall back into their routine without fully expressing themselves.

I did love the fact that she was waiting for him.:)

[cosetteferaud.livejournal.com]

It's told from Anders' POV (at least partially) and it's an observation about Kara's penchant for bravado

I think it's this quote from rawles’ ”Tell Me Enough (To Make Me Know That You Are Glad)” (http://rawles.livejournal.com/188581.html). I love it, too. Such a fantastic insight.

The thing Sam admires most about Starbuck is her ability to wear every emotion flashing right on her surface, and hide everything about who she is at the same time. Evasion without evasiveness, secrets without secrecy. Something about her is entrancing, and she shows so much with every grin and every scowl that you don't realize that you don't really know her.

[callmeonetrack.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, that's it! Funny, thought it was Rawles but I thought she'd written Amateur (which is fahye's) and when I went to find it, I couldn't! Evasion without evasiveness, indeed!

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

That's such a lovely quote. Thanks for finding it!

It's so true that Kara shows so much, yet gives away so little.