Fic: Outside the Ring

[i_am_davnee]

 

Comments

[larsfarm77]

Love the anger in this whole thing; it just crackles under the surface and carries the pace so well. I love that Laura got to vent the frustration of that UB speech, because we all know it was meant for her, personally, too, and it was a shitty thing to do.

Sam. He looked like shit. Of course, being married to Kara Thrace would do that to you. She was an honorary Adama after all.

The connection here is so good ... it's all one (albeit surrogate) family they're both dealing with and it's a lovely connection between laura and Sam.

I've loved all three parts of this series, despite not having a whole lot of interest in the pairing -- you write it SO well. Awesome stuff!

[tjonesy]

Everything Lars just said above. There's something weirdly incestuous about many of the BSG relationships. Like 1 degree of separation and sometimes that doesn't even feel like enough. I'm also not a fan of this pairing, but I'll generally sample anything you've put out there, and I can't say that I've ever been disappointed. A good writer can usually get me to believe in any situation

[i_am_davnee]

Thanks TJ! The Adamas are a difficult bunch. Even on a good day, and Season 3 was a particularly difficult time with Bill. He didn't seem to know what he wanted. No wonder Laura was frustrated.

Why does this guy only wants to pursue something more with her when she's dying. *sigh*

Sigh indeed.

Thanks for the feedback!

[i_am_davnee]

Thanks Larsi! I am glad you enjoyed the story. It was hard to write this one. One thing to have Laura and Sam together on New Caprica, but it felt far more awkward here where Bill is present. But then I realized there was this moment where the anger might be pitched enough for Laura to look for an escape.

And yes, the Adamas are a difficult bunch, honorary or not!

[missbevcrusher]

You. Are. The. Best.

I absolutely adored this! Damn!

I loved the angst and how Laura and Sam indulged in what the other could give. It was hot, poignant in a way, and extremely well written.

There's a reason you're one of my fav writers. You have a way of weaving stories. The words draw me right in.

For her it was time to walk a new path. Her step already felt lighter for what she had broken and laid down tonight. Earth was enough to live for. Let the ghosts of New Caprica before its fall be just that. She kissed Sam once more, soft and slow, before he ducked through the curtain and was gone.

This time it really was goodbye.

This part made my heart clench a little.

Thank you so much for posting this on my birthday. When I saw this, I actually flailed. And I mean flailed for real, arms and all. I squeed too. Then my husband looked at me with a questioning look and I jumped up and said, "I got some Laura/Sam for my birthday!"

He shook his head and chuckled.

Anyhoo... Best... gift... EVAR!!!

*BIG HUGS*

[i_am_davnee]

Awww, thank you, you flatter me! I hope this was a worthy birthday present of your awesome. I do love this pairing so, even if my heart belongs ultimately to Laura/Bill.

And my heart clenched a bit too when I wrote the last line. Hate the thought of saying farewell to this duo.

♥

[zaleti]

Lars & TJ covered a lot of what I wanted to say already, but it's worth repeating that Laura's anger here is just brilliant. I love that it's so very bitter, and how it keeps coming back, even as she tries to banish it. I also can totally see her doing something rash and badass, in her frayed emotional state: I think that's really well observed. FU, Bill. :)

P.S. Also love Sam going for the desk - that detail made me laugh, because it was awesome. I do enjoy this pairing, and you write it so well. Frakking excellent. Best thing I've read in ages. (((Davnee)))

[i_am_davnee]

Angry Laura is kind of sexy, and well Bill deserves it at this point! And Sam is no fool. Desk sex with the president? Who could pass that by?!!!

(((Zaleti)))

Thanks for the awesome feedback!!!

[icedteainthebag]

Ever since someone pointed out to me that Bill's UB speech was directed not only toward the crowd in general, but toward Laura, I've wanted to see something written that addresses the betrayal, frustration and anger she must have felt at his words.

This was perfectly thatI'm glad she was angry; I'm glad she decided to find a way to channel that anger. She took (and had been taking) from Sam the one thing Bill had refused to allow her--that absolute depth of intimacy, however brief

[i_am_davnee]

(((Tea)))

Thank you for this amazing feedback.

Yet, as much as they're outside the ring, they're inside of it too--I have always seen Laura as using sex in a number of ways, at least in her past. Here, it is her weapon, as much as words were his. And so I found it even more fitting that you alluded to her power and the symbolism of the desk

I love your interpretation here. Laura is hurt, but she does have power, and I love the idea that she is not afraid to show it, and not ashamed either. She loves Bill, but there is an obstinance in her as much as there is in him. I love sketching that and bringing it to life. Glad it translated.

♥

[frakcancer]

But loyalty was the currency of love’s losers, and hope the tonic of her fools.

I love this line. Far too many fics show Laura as either some silly frilly girl outside the office or as a swaggering Baltar-like hussy, ready to frak at the drop of a pair of pants. You've shown her all of a piece -- the Laura who'll take what she can get from a fellow victim of the Adamas is the same woman as the pragmatic politician who doesn't dwell (too much) on everything they've lost, who just figures out what's next and how they might get to there, shrugging off the past for her public.

[i_am_davnee]

Thanks! I like what you have to say about Laura here. I do think so many fics romanticize her, and I wanted to give her an edge here. Make her very human in her anger and what she is willing to break to let it out.

I'm glad you enjoyed. Thanks for commenting!