lanalucy | Meta on Kara/Zak and Helo

millari asked, "What do you think Kara's life would have been like if Zak had never died and she had married him? Do you think she would have still served on the Galactica, for example?"

If Zak hadn’t died, Kara might still have been teaching two years later. I’m not convinced that her relationship with Zak would have lasted, though. I think at least part of the attraction for him was the fact that he was in a relationship with a “forbidden” person, and part of it for her was that Zak was so very easygoing, she didn’t have to worry about him poking his nose into her wounded psyche. She held all the power in the relationship.

If they’d stayed together long enough, Zak would have wanted to help her heal her wounds, and I think she would have pushed back and maybe even broken up with him over what she would likely see as meddling in what was none of his business. Her relationship with Zak was good because it didn’t last long, in my opinion. It wouldn’t have stayed that way. Kara had too many secrets that were out of bounds, and Zak was immature and spoiled to some degree. She wouldn't have adjusted well to a more balanced power dynamic, I don't think.

Totally aside from that, they wouldn’t necessarily have been stationed together unless they came out to the military once he was graduated and no longer her student.

If by some miracle they were still together two years later, Zak and Lee would probably have been on Galactica for the decommissioning, but I doubt Kara would have gone, unless she somehow developed a relationship with Bill like she does in canon. I don’t see that happening, though, because their canon relationship was based in large part on their shared sense of loss over a man who could by his death remain unimpeachably perfect.

So if Kara were still with Zak two years later, I think she’d have died in the initial attacks on the colonies.

plaid_slytherin said, "Sell me on Helo? ;) I'd love to read some general thoughts on the character, since I may be writing him soon.

Oh, Helo. Karl is genuinely a good guy in my opinion. He’s not perfect, but he’s a rare bird in BSGverse, in that he rarely reacts out of anger or hatred, and he doesn’t seem to hold grudges for long. He does tend to go a little too far toward the good guy side, though - he’s too gullible, in my opinion, and tends to believe what people tell him, take them at face value.

Karl is a lover AND a fighter. He cares about the people around him, and will go out of his way to help keep the peace. He’s also fiercely protective of those closest to him. In canon, this trait was most often shown with Sharon/Athena, then later with Hera. When he has to fight, he’s cool and calm under pressure.

His tendency to take people at face value is at the heart of his long friendship with Kara, I think. He doesn’t push her too far, or too often, so she lets him inside her personal bubble and genuinely lets him close emotionally (sometimes). I think he values the friendship he has with Kara, because he knows how hard-won it was - he knows that she’s not truly friends with very many people.

He lets people assume he’s less bright than he is because it serves his purposes. His tendency to listen and wait and weigh make it seem like he’s a little on the slow side, but if I were in a position of command, I’d probably rely heavily on someone like Karl, because he takes everything in and doesn’t make snap decisions. He did serve as XO of Galactica for a time, but the way he considers things before deciding would hamper his ability to command a battlestar under fire, and I doubt he’d have ever gotten command under ordinary circumstances.

He’s loyal to a fault - once he’s given his friendship, he doesn’t take it back, and he doesn’t seem to take sides. He’d have been an ideal mediator, as he seems able to distance himself from his personal stake in something and attempt to see both sides of a fight. As an example, he stays friends with both Lee and Kara during and after New Caprica.

He’s content with what he has, not the kind to be given an inch and try to take a mile. The one thing he seems willing to really fight for, put himself at risk for, push beyond his comfort zone to keep, is Sharon/Athena and her health and well-being (and by extension, Hera’s).

In my head, he had a loving family, with both parents mostly present, and several sisters, all older than he is. This foundation is at the heart of his even-tempered personality and his live-and-let-live attitude toward others.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Lana, this is such wonderful meta. I love your thoughts here, things I never entertained. I think you're absolutely right though about Kara and Zak and the imbalance of power, and what kind of drew her to him at the beginning. (that he was easygoing and wouldn't ask too much of her.)

I enjoy hearing you chat about Kara!

Thanks!

As much as I think Lee approached it the wrong way in Scar, I think he was more right than he knew, that Kara was better with the dead guys. They couldn't disappoint her.

Mmmmm, Karl. Such a rock and such a sanctuary, too. Very honorable. Loyal indeed. Love your headcanon about him coming from a loving family and having a lot of sisters. I can totally see that.

My love for Karl comes close to approaching my love for Kara.

The kind of patience Karl shows, particularly with Kara, tells me he loves women, and knows a thing or two about them. He doesn't put them on a pedestal, and he's not afraid of them.

Besides that, Tahmoh is totally delicious to look at. :D

Edited 2014-04-20 04:08 (UTC)

I really enjoyed that apartment scene with Karl and Kara on my re-watch. His mellow quality, I think, could be very good for someone like Kara. :) Karl is pretty straightforward. (Not dumb.) But not somebody who overthinks things -- like you said, he kind of takes things as they come.

And yes...he is....mmmmmm.

That mellowness is pretty much the basis for the Home is Where the Heart Is series. He just takes whatever Kara throws at him, and keeps loving her, and basically is a rock. Yep.

I love that scene - Karl's so surprised by the art, but he's not condescending about it. You can tell in his voice that he likes her work, and Kara needs that kind of validation, though she'd never ask for it.

Katee and Tahmoh painted that apartment set themselves.

I loved getting to see Kara's apartment. That's pretty neat about them painting it together.

Hmmm, I have to check to see if I've read that one -- if not, I'll snag it for my Kindle tonight.

(This is me...totally not studying.)

It's like the Healing Arts one - great beginning, a semi-ending, and a whole lot of empty space in the middle for me to make things up. lol

I like it, though. Kara's a little less damaged, and Karl is his own sweet self. And I love his mother. :D

Nope, didn't read it. I just downloaded the first 7 parts. I'll grab the rest tomorrow. I can probably get a good chunk read waiting for mass to start tomorrow. He makes us get there supremely early.

I'm always so glad when people mention fic that I missed.

Seriously, you kind of have to wave it in my face.

(Um, that sounds really bad but I'm going to leave it because it will amuse you.)

"Seriously, you kind of have to wave it in my face."

I can imagine Laura saying something like that in all innocence, and Tom taking it the wrong way. :D

Also, thanks for reading it. I really do like this one.

Edited 2014-04-20 04:48 (UTC)

Hmmmmm, I may have to incorporate that into a fic.

You know, from a couple of interviews I've seen with Tamoh, I think he's also got very similar attitudes toward women and similarly was shaped strongly by the females in his family. He speaks with great reverence in one interview I saw of a grandmother who was the matriarch of his First Nation tribe.

He seems pretty proud of his heritage, and most of the native tribes I've learned about were matriarchal rather than patriarchal. Makes sense.

I love that little tidbit. I'll have to look for more of his interviews.

He's a really interesting guy. Much more easily flustered than Karl Agathon. :D

I've wondered about what Kara's relationship with the Old Man would have been had Zak lived and I really don't think it would have been good; I don't think that she would have treated Zak well and if Adama had known that I don't believe that all the ace pilot skills in the 'verse could have made up for it. Gods, they would have been so unhappy together!

As for this: "Sell me on Helo." Clicky clicky I have the ticket right here..... (http://archiveofourown.org/works?utf8=%E2%9C%93&commit=Sort+and+Filter&work_search%5Bsort_column%5D=revised_at&work_search%5Brelationship_ids%5D%5B%5D=7142&work_search%5Bother_tag_names%5D=&work_search%5Bquery%5D=&work_search%5Blanguage_id%5D=&work_search%5Bcomplete%5D=0&user_id=lanalucy) Really, I love how you write him, even more than the show writes him.

eta: Hi! *waves* Thanks for coming to play at my journal today <3

Edited 2014-05-07 01:23 (UTC)

Yeah. I think Zak living would have changed a lot of things, and not necessarily for the better. You're right.

Helo. I need a Helo.

Thank you for the compliment. I love Karl almost as much as I love Kara. And I adore writing them together. They have so much fun with each other.

Edited 2014-05-07 01:26 (UTC)

I'm holding out for a Helo til the end of the night!

He's gotta be strong

And he's gotta be fast

And he's gotta be fresh from the fight

<3 <3 <3

Meta on Kara/Zak and Helo

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject