Daily Pilots Post

[lyras.livejournal.com]

Thanks to everyone's contributions yesterday! Some interesting discussion and lovely drabbles going on there.

Today's prompt is a nice random one for you:

starting the spaceship

As before, post anything you like in response, and don't worry if it ends up not fitting the prompt very well!

Also, if you were going to rec just one Kara/Lee fanfic, which would it be? What story really nails the way you see the characters, or puts them in your perfect future together?

For this post, I'd like to request that you rec only other people's stories. I have plans for personal pimping later in the week. :)

Comments

[scifishipper.livejournal.com]

Without a second thought, I would pimp Periapsis (http://community.livejournal.com/shewhohathapen/26014.html) by rawles. It strips out the guilt and the self-doubt and puts two strong (and frakked up) people together as it should be. I LOVE IT. <3<3<3

[lyras.livejournal.com]

Ooh, that sounds fascinating. Thank you!

[shah-of-blah.livejournal.com]

I'm torn between Supply and Demand (http://sangga.livejournal.com/6621.html) and Aerilon Girls Are Easy (http://flowrs4ophelia.livejournal.com/113085.html#cutid1). Supply and Demand is, in my opinion, an exquisite look at coping in the wake of the destruction of the Colonies, and it's a beautiful examination of what makes life worth living. Aerilon Girls Are Easy is, to me, the quintessential 'what if the war didn't happen' fic. This would happen. It's not idyllic. They're still really frakked up. But there's still something there, something drawing them together, and there's still that possibility for someday.

[nazkey.livejournal.com]

Ah, Aerilon Girls. I remember for weeks and weeks after I first read it, I couldn't get "Teller" out of my head. So beautiful.

[cosetteferaud.livejournal.com]

I adore "Suppy and Demand", but "Aerilon Girls" owns my heart, that's the story I'd rec right now. I have lost count of how many times I've read it. It's so subtle, honest, bittersweet... and eventually, hopeful. It's a "what if" story but, to me, captures the very core of pilots.

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

It's really, really tough to narrow it down. But if I had to rec the work of a single author, I think it would be mercurial_wit. Choosing a single story is hard, but for me it would be either Amateur (http://mercurial-wit.livejournal.com/30990.html) or Our Pataphysical Divigation (http://mercurial-wit.livejournal.com/34490.html). "Amateur" does the impossible by untangling the quadrangle of doom in a way that does justice to everyone. It's a really beautiful AU look at Kara, Lee, and even Dualla from Ander's point of view. It's just gorgeous, and the ending is so full of quiet joy. And "Our Pataphysical Divigation" is such a fantastic look at Kara and Lee as students, both grappling with the larger-than-life legends that are wrapped around them and searching for something more honest and confusing and human underneath.

[nazkey.livejournal.com]

Excellent choices. Amateur is one of my all-time Anders centered fic's.

[nazkey.livejournal.com]

It's really hard to pick just one fic, but my number one would have to be leda13's Tacit (http://leda13.livejournal.com/20693.html#cutid1). Other than being beautifully written, it was the fic that sent me down the rabbit hole of this fandom on LJ and that's how I ultimately found everyone here.

[sparklegirl79.livejournal.com]

Well... to recommend one single fic, I think I'd have to reread all of them first, it's been so long on some of them.

But as for the prompt, here's a little something off the cuff:




She giggles into his lips as she backs him into a supply closet, kicking the hatch shut behind them. “That was close.”

“Too close.”

“There’s no such thing as too close,” she scoffs, “there’s caught, and not caught. Dead or alive.”

“Now who’s being philosophical?” She can hear the smirk in his voice, feel the amused curl of his mouth against the skin of her throat. “You’re insane, you know that, right?”

“Beyond, as I seem to remember someone informing me.” His hands skim across the bare skin of her stomach, and she doesn’t remember when he pulled her jacket off. She thinks she ought to return the favor though, and she yanks his tanks up impatiently and he pulls away enough to let her tug them off.

“Seriously, this… us…. We’re living dangerously here, Kara. We’re going to get caught eventually.” His eyes are drowning blue, too serious in the dim light.

“Shut up Lee,” she sinks to her knees, holding his gaze. “Let me help you start up your spaceship.” He gapes at her, and she loves that she can still make him speechless, though right now she wants him moaning her name.

[damao2010.livejournal.com]

It is sooooo difficult to rec just one fic since there are so many outstanding, amazing ones out there.

If I really had to do it, I guess it would be Killing with kindness (http://lochness.home.texas.net/fic1/KillingBSG.txt) by Loch Ness. It is an AU story set in New Caprica and focuses on what might have happened if cylons had really tried to make things work with humans on that planet. It discusses what it is to be human and to be alive, the difference between living and surviving and whether or not cylons are able to understand these nuances. It is an extremely angsty piece, very Lee-centered, with healthy (angsty) doses of K/L, a generous dash of Lee/Bill. The development of a certain kind of relationship between Lee and Sharon is one of the best things about this story because it relates to the broader issues discussed in a very clever, meaningful way. I love it because it is about Kara and Lee, but also about so much more. A really must-read, IMHO.

Now, if I have to rec, just one fic that "puts them in your perfect future together", well then another story immeadiately comes to mind. It is still unfinished, the author hasn't updated in a long while (but she has assured me she is going to have if finished). It is not really about a "perfect" future, because there are still many unresolved issues between our dear pilots, but I think of it as perfect because it is very realistic and they both seem to have matured so much that it is really a matter of time before they are finally able to enjoy that shiny, bright future they always talked about. It is set on Earth, our Earth, and most of the survivors have settled in different parts of the planet. Lee has become a politician, representing the colonials on Earth while Kara has remained on the military. Something happened to keep them apart for many years, but they have met again and are starting to reconnect. Lots of very interesting original characters. The story is Almost out of the Sky (http://gwassh0ppa.livejournal.com/2934.html) , by gwassh0ppa. Eventhough it is a WIP, it is a must-read, as well.

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Hello ~ I have a late entry for the "starting the spaceship" prompt. It's meant to be set on the night before the Galactica's last mission in the "Daybreak" finale.

Requests

The hangar bay was dark and crowded. With only two hours to go before the impossible rescue began, pilots and marines were jumbled loosely into their deployment groups. Some slept in corners, limp and open-mouthed. Others were fiddling with equipment, writing letters, marking time to keep themselves from thinking. More than a few had vanished into bunk rooms and supply closets.

Kara circled the deck twice before she found him. His feet were jutting from under the wing of a Raptor and she could hear a low hiss over the scrape of metal; it sounded like he was fiddling with one of the exterior air pumps. She lowered herself to the concrete and maneuvered in beside him.

"Hey," he greeted, quirking an eyebrow.

"Hey," she answered, studying the panel he'd opened up above them. "Break your ship again?"

His defiant little "shut up" made her feel better about life. He set down his wrench and started making more delicate adjustments. "It's not broken, but the last pilots reported a bit of a starboard list during take-off and landing." He shrugged. "Might as well fix it."

She nodded and opened the lower panel. They kept their hands occupied, lying side by side, staring upward in comfortable silence.

"Blue squadron work out that stupid formation problem?" she asked.

"Yeah. I sicced Tigh on them."

She grinned. "That's cruel and unusual, Mr. Vice President."

"It's a vicious job," he said complacently.

"Did you catch up with Helo about the..."

"...countermeasures, yeah." He reached absently to one side and she slipped an insulated glove onto his hand, keeping its mate for herself. They started carefully untangling dormant wires.

"If I hadn't left, where do you think we'd be by now?"

Her question was casual, dropping cleanly into the space between them. Their fingers kept threading through the tiny gears overhead, working by touch. She didn't specify which departure she meant. It wouldn't change the answer.

"Together," he said, blinking as a drop of oil hit his forehead.

"Married?"

"Don't know." He reached for the nub of the hose, jiggling it to prevent further leaks. The corner of his mouth curled softly. "Maybe."

She huffed, sounding obscurely pleased. "Divorced, more likely."

"That's what you think."

She turned her head to look at him, cheek cold against the deck. "Ask me for something." Her eyes were warm and wide. "Whatever you want. A last request." He frowned, setting down his tools and angling slightly to face her. "Make it good," she ordered, shaking just a bit.

His eyes moved over her hands, her face; her skin gleamed blue and livid under their pool of flourescent light.

They stilled and stared at each other.

"Live," he finally said. "Please, just live. No matter what."

Her eyes fluttered and her mouth drew tight.

She twined her hand in his, but didn't promise.

This is the happiest thing to happen to me all day

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you for posting it!

Re: This is the happiest thing to happen to me all day

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it :)

[shah-of-blah.livejournal.com]

Oh man, that just made me hurt. Well done.

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Heh, I know. Finale = pain. And once again Lee manages to want the one thing she can't give.

Thanks so much for your comment, I'm glad you liked it :)

[damao2010.livejournal.com]

Oh,... So heartbreaking and loving. I'm speechless.

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it.

As ever, finale = pain, but the drabble was really about love and I'm glad that came through.

:)

[nazkey.livejournal.com]

Wow. This was so beautifully done. You've conveyed so much in such a short dribble. Bravo!

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much! I'm very glad you liked it :)

[nazkey.livejournal.com]

I meant to say drabble btw. Stupid iPad is pretty sneaky with the spell check.