Thirty-Day Fic Rec Meme

[lanalucy]

Day Ten
Fic that convinced me of a pairing that I totally hated - I think hate's a bit too strong a word, but...
Shuffle and Deal - Part I of TRIAD by lizardbeth - the link is to  AO3, but the fic is also here on lj (I think so, anyway), if you prefer to read it here.
Lee Adama/Kara Thrace/Sam Anders
BSG

Before I found this fic, I had been studiously avoiding Kara/Sam, because it just didn't work for me - not on the show, not in fic - it just made my head and my heart hurt.  This fic somehow made it okay.  If I'm going to read Kara/Sam, I still prefer to have a third party in the equation, even if it's not Lee, but I've begun to read a few strictly het fics as well.  Baby steps.

It's billed as Part I of TRIAD, though as yet, there's no second part.  I keep hoping desperately there'll be more to the story.

Comments

[kdbleu.livejournal.com]

Well, I kind of explained my shipping course on Epics the other day. In the full version there are a couple of things that will keep me from shipping a couple. Like I don't ship couples on shows that are largely procedurals anymore - because of Mulder and Scully. I think if the relationship hasn't moved from UST after three seasons it will be fucked up, see Bones and now Castle.

And I have a real issue with characters who aren't equally developed. This is oddly one of my biggest issues with Anders. He was simply never a character with enough 'there' for me to invest. He could have died at the end of season 2 or beginning of 3 and had much the same effect on the story, at least for me. In fact, it could have been better because it would have added a twist to him being a cylon, but that's beside the point. Because I wouldn't have thought beyond 'he frakked my ship' if I hadn't been able to discuss semi-constructively why people did or did not like Anders. I think people miss that opportunity when they want everyone to be 'nice'.

[lanalucy]

That's sort of my biggest problem with Anders, and with Dee, as the story went on. They were attachments to their spouses, not characters of their own. To me, Sam was a guy Kara frakked. I never saw the great-love-of-her-life or frankly, the-great-love-of-his-life, the emotional connection between them, in their relationship, even when Katee was trying so hard to shove it down our throats at the end of season four.

Dee was a great character in the beginning, and she had moments, but mostly, once they had her start chasing Lee and competing with Kara, she was just an obstacle.

I think there's being nice and being able to be adults and have a lively debate with point and counterpoint. The fandom version of "nice" that's enforced a lot of places lets us wax poetic about our favorites, but denies us the ability to share with equal honesty why we dislike a character. Disliking someone else's favorite character should not hurt someone's feelings, for frak's sake. I mean, if someone doesn't like Kara, I might wonder if they're a little tetched in the head, but I can still respect their opinion, Right?

I can respect that Katee Sackhoff saw something in Kara's relationship with Sam that I just didn't get, and I can live in my own little world where Kara's clearly meant to be with Lee. I still adore Katee.

[kdbleu.livejournal.com]

I honestly forget about Dee after Sacrifice. Is that bad? hee. Actually gutting Dee is more annoying to me than Sam. They should kept her with Billy and given his enough story that he wanted to stay instead of adding Sam. Hey, there's a plan. :D

And Sam proved that the tag-a-long partner is not disliking the token girlfriend. I dislike the underdeveloped male version just as much. Give me a real character or move on. *waves hand dismissively*

lets us wax poetic about our favorites, but denies us the ability to share with equal honesty why we dislike a character.

Without taking into consideration that someone waxing poetic about a character that drives you up a wall can be just as off putting, if not more when you're kind of not 'allowed' to disagree.

And part of my issue is that I usually know why my favorite characters are dislikable so it's not news to me. Sometimes people act like disliking a character they love or really identify with is a personal insult. It's a frakking character. Just don't be mean.

I have a theory about why Katee preferred Sam to Lee that has a lot to do with how she has crafted her career since BSG. Being half of the young, romantic ship puts her in a league of actresses that wasn't where she wanted to be as an actress. I actually, honestly, respects that.

I also think Katee would have done the hard sell with who ever Kara ended up with. If you read through interviews, esp from S4, Kara's OTP changed a lot for her. ;) So I totally live in a place where Kara and Lee end up together in another life where they've dealt with their issues.

[lanalucy]

:D

Do you know how much I love that a fic rec spawned this kind of discussion? Can we call it a discussion? lol

[kdbleu.livejournal.com]

definitely a discussion.

Even funnier one of the L/K/S that I enjoyed. hee.

I have a very specific issue about this trio. I don't think Kara would ever not play the boys off each other.

[lanalucy]

She totally would. I read one once where both of the guys were trying to one-up each other, Lee more than Sam, and it completely blew up in Lee's face. I love Lee, but he got what was coming to him in that one. lol

Even if I read them, though, I'm never gonna be a Kara/Sam shipper. Just not gonna happen. Doesn't make me like my friends any less because they are K/S shippers. :shrugs: To each her own.