Remembering the Good Times AND Naming Our Baby

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Hi everyone! Today’s topic is split between high and low time commitments. First, the quick one:

 

Naming Kara Thrace: It doesn’t seem fair that only half of our piloty pair is currently in possession of a middle name. Today, please contribute your suggestions for a middle name that would fit Kara. You can pick a name with symbolic significance, of course, but also feel free to suggest a name just because you find it pretty. I will take all of your suggestions and create a poll (or a few polls if we have too many names to cover in just one) and tomorrow we can vote on them. By the end of the week, Kara will have an official, democratically selected fanon full name.

I will go ahead and propose the obvious choice so that you all can feel free to discuss it and to explore other alternatives in your comments: Artemis. I have a feeling this might be a favorite, both because of the symbolism and the Apollo connection, and because it makes her initials KAT, which is just fun. However, the downside is that it fits her almost too well – it smacks of destiny and/or cosmic irony. It reminds me of a wonderful Harry Potter fanfic in which someone explained that the werewolf who sought out a kid named ‘Remus Lupin’ to bite must have had a really sick sense of humor.

And now here’s a question for those of you who have time for a bit of character speculation:

One of the great strengths of Battlestar Galactica was its commitment to complicated, three-dimensional characters and relationships. In that spirit, let’s revisit our pilots’ troubled parent-child conflicts from a different angle. What were the bright spots in Kara’s life with her mother, what were the moments of connection Lee shared with his Mom and his Dad before the end of the worlds – what were the best parts of their worst relationships when they were growing up? What strengths do you imagine they might have drawn from these troubled and at times abusive people? In what ways might they have found some measure of happiness with them? Please don’t misunderstand, I’m not asking anyone to condone abuse in any way or to whitewash bad parenting, but if BSG was consistent about anything it was in insisting that there are always shades of grey. I can’t believe it was all bad, not even for Kara and Socrata. What do you think?

Comments

[dramaturgca.livejournal.com]

I don't go with Artemis, just because it makes her Lee's twin. Aurora and Eos usually work for me. I also really like Fiona and Tiana.

[utenatai.livejournal.com]

Riffing off of the Artemis idea - I like Orthia. It's a little less in your face than Artemis, but with the same connotations.

[ecstaticdance.livejournal.com]

Twin-ick aside, Kara was always and will always be Aurora/Eos for me. It still smacks of destiny, though. The harbinger, the One who brings change, etc.

So, for meaning I guess I'd go with Aurora (though I should go with Eos, for the sake of Greek-consistency).

Otherwise, I'm not sure. I mean, I like the idea of her taking Adama as her middle name when she marries Lee...

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Hee! Kara Adama Thrace, Kara Aurora Thrace or Kara Artemis Thrace, this girl seems destined to be KAT one way or another :) I like it!

[ecstaticdance.livejournal.com]

Which is actually kind of... Ironic isn't the right word... uncomfortable at least, given the animosity between Kara and Katraine.

[baciami2.livejournal.com]

Airlie. Obvious reasons: Air - she flies, Lie - pronounced like Lee. There's an Earl of Airlie in Scotland that was created by William the Lion, so you get a bit of Tyrol up in Scotland as well as the remembered Admiral. With Airlie, you'd still have the initials KAT.

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Fun ideas, all. I especially love the Tyrol connection and William the Lion (I always think of Bill and Kara as Gryffindors!)

[lyras.livejournal.com]

You're not the only one who thinks there must've been some good times for Kara and Socrata.

I always wonder why her mother was so certain about Kara's destiny - it opens up all sorts of possibilities (especially if you like to think, as I do, that Dreilide Thrace = Daniel. I gather this was disproved in a podcast at some point, but I still think it's a pretty persuasive idea). Or was she just a very driven person who did not like her own failures so pressured Kara into achieving everything?

And that's not really what you were asking, so...well, I think one obvious strength that Kara drew from her mother is simply strength. She'll take anything and throw it back at you twofold.

[somethingusual.livejournal.com]

In my personal canon Dreilide Thrace = Daniel. I don't care what the silly writers say.
I think Kara and her mother would have spent at least some good times together/had some sort of connection. Otherwise Kara would have run away far sooner. Perhaps they had some spiritual moments together. Or perhaps there were some moments when Socrata was really proud of Kara's achievements (when she hadn't been drinking of course).

[jeeshee.livejournal.com]

pfft the Daniel thing was so obvious *and* an easy way for the writers to give more of an explanation for Kara's resurrection than 'she's a ~*magical angel*~'. Definitely a persuasuve idea!

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Neat. I think your points are interesting ones, and the question of how Socrata developed such certainty is a fascinating one.

I think the 'Daniel' explanation could be a rich one to explore; how much would he have known, and how much would he have told his wife?

On the other hand, I think it's possible that Socrata might have been visited by Head!Angels the same way Kara later was visited by her mystic!father-image. I think the forces at work behind the human-Cylon road to Earth were working behind the scenes for a long time, and I can see Socrata being both terrified by and utterly confident in any visions she might have ~ she would flat out refuse to believe that she was crazy, and therefore she would treat any Angel's messages with pragmatic, overzealous certainty. I can see her squirreling away everything her daughter ever touched, watching those maelstroms appear in margins and canvases over and over, seeing them in her own dreams. I think it's interesting that art is the one non-military, non-tough, essentially useless past-time that she seemed to encourage Kara to pursue. Maybe she'd been taught to read the meaning behind those paintings.

I'm always struck by the Oracle's prophecy in Maelstrom: "You learned the wrong lesson from your mother, Kara. You mistook the messenger for the message. You mother was trying to teach you something else."

[jeeshee.livejournal.com]

I can see Socrata not really bothering with a middle name. She'd probably see it as a waste of breath!

Dreilide might choose one, perhaps something musical. Euterpe is the Greek Muse of music. Or how about Aria to make KAT?

Or how about...Daniella? (lol - see my comment above!)

eta: What about Nike? She's usually depicted with wings. I like the sound of the middle k with Kara.

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Neat. I like all your suggestions, especially Aria and Nike.

And I can see Socrata skipping the middle name; or alternatively giving her daughter the middle name "Socrata," which might be why Kara would never use it.

[kag523.livejournal.com]

I have two minutes before I jump back into my readings, so this is brief.

In my personal canon, Kara's full name is Kara Artemis Thrace and Lee's is Leland Joseph Adama. (And BTW, when they eventually get married... which I think could happen in my much happier universe... neither one changes or hyphenates. They are what they are.)

Alright. Books await.

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Nice. I like your personal canon. Good luck with the books!

[damao2010.livejournal.com]

"They are what they are."

I loved that. I'm not very enthusiastic of the idea of changing one's name after marriage (I really hate it, in fact, lol) and when it comes with people with such strong personalities and identities as Kara and Lee I really wouldn't like to see them changing their names. It may be silly but it seems to me as if they would lose some of their identity with different names.

[kag523.livejournal.com]

I never changed my name at all. (No hyphen or anything.) It seems a bit radical for some people, but I always felt like I knew who I was when I married, and I didn't see it changing.

[damao2010.livejournal.com]

That' it. You don't become a different person because you got married. I totally respect those who prefer to change names, but it feels kind of sexist to me. And more than a bit old fashioned . It goes back to a time when after you married you litterally left you family/tribe and entered a new one and when women were not seen as individuals but rather as properties of or completely dependent on a strong male figure (first, the father and later, the husband). I would have a big problem if a man ever asked me to do it. And I don't think it would really fit in BSG's universe at all.

[scifishipper.livejournal.com]

I got nothin' on the middle name question, but do have some thoughts about Lee and Kara with their parents.

Briefly, I imagine Kara bonding with her mother about the military - not in an overt way, but as a child, despite the abuse, I can see a young (up to age 6 or 7) Kara wanting to emulate her mother's military style - tough, efficient, strong-minded, etc. Later, when she becomes older I can picture her rejecting much of the rule-based parts of the military, but the desire to serve still runs strong. Even though it is not openly stated, I imagine Kara using the military as a way to connect with (and please) her mother, even if she would not readily admit it.

As for Lee, I wonder if his love of flying might have come from idolizing his father at an early age. Even though fanon (and maybe canon?) indicates that he resents his father's insistence that he (Lee) become a pilot, he seems to love flying. I can imagine Lee idolizing his father, as young boys do, and that despite the later disappointments and anger, flying is still part of his identity.

[My brain is not working so well, so forgive my inarticulate response.] :D

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed your thoughts, here. I could see both of these scenarios, they seem like good, realistic fits into our pilots' personalities. Sweet.

[damao2010.livejournal.com]

Good ideas.

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

I'd like to nominate Helen for consideration as Kara's middle name. I have three reasons:

1) I think it's pretty without being too flashy/exotic,
2) it's Greek (natch!), and
3) according to legend, Helen had a face "that launched a thousand ships" ~ a reference to the Trojan War. I bet Kara has launched even more! :)

[rdave1.livejournal.com]

I like Helen! I agree since Lee's middle is something simple, we can't expect Kara to have to leave to a huge name reference. Helen is modest but in its own has a meaning. I like that.

[damao2010.livejournal.com]

How about Kara Alexis Thrace? Alexis means "protector of mankind", so I think it would be fitting, I guess. Besides, I think it sounds nice.

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

I love all versions of the name Alexander, male or female, especially the ones that sound a bit Russian ~ Alexei, Alexis, Alexa. So I heartily approve this suggestion!