rose_griffes (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rose_griffes) wrote2007-05-08 06:52 pm
rose_griffes) wrote2007-05-08 06:52 pm
BSG fic: "Fairy Tale, Ending" (Cally, PG)
I had a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day. (Technology--that thing which is supposed to make our lives easier--totally hates me and the 35 or so students who had to use the computers for a national exam. Grr.) Happily I had an e-mail from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jashyr saying that I had, in fact, improved that little Cally-fic I was writing, rather than making it worse. Heh. Maybe I just fried Jash's brain because I sent off not one, not two, but three versions of this story. For good or ill, here it is.
Also, Cally insisted on being a fairy-tale princess. I swear it wasn't me.
title: Fairy Tale, Ending
characters: Cally; Cally/Tyrol; hints of Boomer/Tyrol
word count: about 1300
rating: PG
spoilers: through 3.20
genre: angst, character study
very patient beta-reader:jashyr
Once upon a time there was a handsome young prince. He fell in love with a beautiful princess, and she loved him. The laws of the land didn't allow for them to form an attachment, so they kept their love hidden. They met when the moon was new and darkness guarded their secret. But what the prince didn't know is that the princess he loved was really an evil sorceress in disguise.
Cally was easy to overlook. She was small and her pixie face made her look trustworthy. When she lied about where the Chief and Boomer were, people believed her. The feelings of being left out faded when she made herself their helper, when she bullied some of the others into helping as well. The lovers' conspiracy meant she was part of a group; she shared their secret.
Sometimes she hated herself for that, that she was ever part of helping it be closer to Galen. Mostly she didn't think about it.
(Except she remembers that look on his face when he was thinking about her, the concentration and desire and she’s never seen that look again.)
The prince was completely under the spell of the sorceress. Her web of lies ensnared him and her kiss sank poison deep into his veins. He faltered and stumbled, knees hitting the ground. His strength was fading. The only way to break the spell of the sorceress was to kill her. Only one who was his true friend could be trusted with the task.
The memories of it were both sharp and hazy. She found a gun. She felt like a flame inside, like an avenging angel. Hitting her mark was easy. Then the fire left her and she was dazed, blank. She didn't know what her feelings were so she defined them by what was accomplished. No more fake friend to betray them, no more fake lover to divide him from the fleet.
Usually she didn't regret it. They worked together and it was awkward, but then it was okay again. They were friends. She was his Cally with the small, agile hands to fix things. She tried to fix him and it worked. She pieced him together again.
(So much blood in her, staining the deck red like spilled paint. The expression on his face from that moment haunts Cally, the hurt and confusion and love. Maybe the spell was never really broken.)
Seeing his true friend's sacrifice revealed his own feelings. The prince loved her, not the sorceress. He wanted to make her his princess and cherish her always.
After his nightmares and guilt she tried to make her feelings clear. She didn’t think he understood at first but after the discovery of a new world he opened up to hope. He came to her and told her that he wanted to be with her, that he wanted to start a family. She was hesitant at first--not about love, because she'd felt this for so long, but about children. He talked about defiance, about showing the Cylons and the fleet that they believed in the future. Tangible proof, he called it, that humanity wouldn't fail.
Hesitant at first, she'd finally agreed. We can do this together, she'd said. We'll raise a family. She saw radiance when he smiled back at her.
(At night he sleeps with his hands cradling the small curve of her stomach; she stares at the metal walls and those fears roam through her mind again. How can they raise a child? Will he know anything besides FTL jumps and machine parts? Can she really be a good mother? She has no one left to ask for advice; Galen's holding her, their child is growing inside her but she feels alone.)
They started to build their kingdom together, but their love didn't remain unchallenged. Monsters invaded the land, some with great claws to snatch and tear, others with disguises to mask their bestial nature, siren lures and angry menaces. Their masks look fair but they feel foul; predatory creatures with words like knives. Their son was born under the dark rule of the beasts. The prince left the side of his beloved family to fight for their imperiled kingdom.
She was screaming when their son was born, crying that they couldn’t have their baby now. But his birth brought her the strength she needed. Nick made her and Galen immortal; even if they died what they had created would endure. They would make sure that it would last. Nick's life gave her the will to gamble for a better existence; so she watched her husband leave their tent, scared that he wouldn't return but wanting to fight for their son.
(Some nights when Galen is home she curls in his arms, holding Nicky, listening to her boys breathing. She has so much to lose now.)
The monsters didn't catch the prince in their snares. Instead they stole away the princess from her child. They locked her away in a dungeon and plotted her demise. Wicked smile gleaming with triumph, the sorceress visited the princess to gloat at her defeat. Meanwhile the prince searched the land high and low for his princess, vowing that he would not rest until he'd saved her from the clutches of the beasts.
The few prayers she knew slipped through her lips, murmured as she clutched her knees and rocked in the cell. So afraid; it was like an electric current running through her. Nicky, was he okay? He was crying when they took her away. Then Boomer came to see her. The terror was ruling over her but Cally held it in as much as she could. She would do anything for her husband and son, ask a boon from anyone. But the cylon offered no help--it was only a machine with faulty programming.
(Sharon looks so broken as she talks about family and Cally hates her, hates it, because if Sharon isn’t a machine then Cally killed a person; she’s a murderer, Nick's mom is an assassin and she shot the woman Galen loved. It can’t be true.)
The king returned and his army stormed the land, snatching the people from the jaws of the monsters. They fled the ruined kingdom and found safety again. Together they worked to rebuild a new home.
Alive. They were all alive and safe aboard Galactica, and she didn't care about the cramped floor space and no privacy. Husband, wife, son; one family in one corner of a spaceship, their world complete. But her husband craved battle and she fought at his side, working to create a fairer existence.
(Can they ever put down the weight of the world and be parents to their son? She and Nick aren’t enough to keep him happy.)
And they lived happily...
Nick had kept them awake crying. Galen wasn't asleep even after Nick quieted. She looked at his tired face and said, “Maybe we can have a night to ourselves, get someone to babysit?” He didn't answer at first and didn't appear to be listening. “Hey, did you hear what I said?”
He finally responded, his tone distracted. “That sounds nice.” Later she awoke because he wasn't in bed next to her. He was trying to be quiet but she heard him close the hatch door as he left.
(What’s happening to him? He's pulling away, going somewhere she can't follow. A cold bed is tangible proof too.)
...ever after.
The fleet rushed into action to send fighters out toward the cylon basestars and he wasn’t there to help. She did her job but kept looking for him. No sign. When she finally did see him he was with Anders. “Where the hell have you been?” she asked.
“I’ll tell you later.” Running to the next ship, she saw him out of the corner of her eye; he was still standing there with Sam, looking confused.
(She shivers and doesn’t know why. She only sees her husband. She doesn’t see fangs and claws behind a mask.)
The End.
jashyr saying that I had, in fact, improved that little Cally-fic I was writing, rather than making it worse. Heh. Maybe I just fried Jash's brain because I sent off not one, not two, but three versions of this story. For good or ill, here it is.Also, Cally insisted on being a fairy-tale princess. I swear it wasn't me.
title: Fairy Tale, Ending
characters: Cally; Cally/Tyrol; hints of Boomer/Tyrol
word count: about 1300
rating: PG
spoilers: through 3.20
genre: angst, character study
very patient beta-reader:
jashyrOnce upon a time there was a handsome young prince. He fell in love with a beautiful princess, and she loved him. The laws of the land didn't allow for them to form an attachment, so they kept their love hidden. They met when the moon was new and darkness guarded their secret. But what the prince didn't know is that the princess he loved was really an evil sorceress in disguise.
Cally was easy to overlook. She was small and her pixie face made her look trustworthy. When she lied about where the Chief and Boomer were, people believed her. The feelings of being left out faded when she made herself their helper, when she bullied some of the others into helping as well. The lovers' conspiracy meant she was part of a group; she shared their secret.
Sometimes she hated herself for that, that she was ever part of helping it be closer to Galen. Mostly she didn't think about it.
(Except she remembers that look on his face when he was thinking about her, the concentration and desire and she’s never seen that look again.)
The prince was completely under the spell of the sorceress. Her web of lies ensnared him and her kiss sank poison deep into his veins. He faltered and stumbled, knees hitting the ground. His strength was fading. The only way to break the spell of the sorceress was to kill her. Only one who was his true friend could be trusted with the task.
The memories of it were both sharp and hazy. She found a gun. She felt like a flame inside, like an avenging angel. Hitting her mark was easy. Then the fire left her and she was dazed, blank. She didn't know what her feelings were so she defined them by what was accomplished. No more fake friend to betray them, no more fake lover to divide him from the fleet.
Usually she didn't regret it. They worked together and it was awkward, but then it was okay again. They were friends. She was his Cally with the small, agile hands to fix things. She tried to fix him and it worked. She pieced him together again.
(So much blood in her, staining the deck red like spilled paint. The expression on his face from that moment haunts Cally, the hurt and confusion and love. Maybe the spell was never really broken.)
Seeing his true friend's sacrifice revealed his own feelings. The prince loved her, not the sorceress. He wanted to make her his princess and cherish her always.
After his nightmares and guilt she tried to make her feelings clear. She didn’t think he understood at first but after the discovery of a new world he opened up to hope. He came to her and told her that he wanted to be with her, that he wanted to start a family. She was hesitant at first--not about love, because she'd felt this for so long, but about children. He talked about defiance, about showing the Cylons and the fleet that they believed in the future. Tangible proof, he called it, that humanity wouldn't fail.
Hesitant at first, she'd finally agreed. We can do this together, she'd said. We'll raise a family. She saw radiance when he smiled back at her.
(At night he sleeps with his hands cradling the small curve of her stomach; she stares at the metal walls and those fears roam through her mind again. How can they raise a child? Will he know anything besides FTL jumps and machine parts? Can she really be a good mother? She has no one left to ask for advice; Galen's holding her, their child is growing inside her but she feels alone.)
They started to build their kingdom together, but their love didn't remain unchallenged. Monsters invaded the land, some with great claws to snatch and tear, others with disguises to mask their bestial nature, siren lures and angry menaces. Their masks look fair but they feel foul; predatory creatures with words like knives. Their son was born under the dark rule of the beasts. The prince left the side of his beloved family to fight for their imperiled kingdom.
She was screaming when their son was born, crying that they couldn’t have their baby now. But his birth brought her the strength she needed. Nick made her and Galen immortal; even if they died what they had created would endure. They would make sure that it would last. Nick's life gave her the will to gamble for a better existence; so she watched her husband leave their tent, scared that he wouldn't return but wanting to fight for their son.
(Some nights when Galen is home she curls in his arms, holding Nicky, listening to her boys breathing. She has so much to lose now.)
The monsters didn't catch the prince in their snares. Instead they stole away the princess from her child. They locked her away in a dungeon and plotted her demise. Wicked smile gleaming with triumph, the sorceress visited the princess to gloat at her defeat. Meanwhile the prince searched the land high and low for his princess, vowing that he would not rest until he'd saved her from the clutches of the beasts.
The few prayers she knew slipped through her lips, murmured as she clutched her knees and rocked in the cell. So afraid; it was like an electric current running through her. Nicky, was he okay? He was crying when they took her away. Then Boomer came to see her. The terror was ruling over her but Cally held it in as much as she could. She would do anything for her husband and son, ask a boon from anyone. But the cylon offered no help--it was only a machine with faulty programming.
(Sharon looks so broken as she talks about family and Cally hates her, hates it, because if Sharon isn’t a machine then Cally killed a person; she’s a murderer, Nick's mom is an assassin and she shot the woman Galen loved. It can’t be true.)
The king returned and his army stormed the land, snatching the people from the jaws of the monsters. They fled the ruined kingdom and found safety again. Together they worked to rebuild a new home.
Alive. They were all alive and safe aboard Galactica, and she didn't care about the cramped floor space and no privacy. Husband, wife, son; one family in one corner of a spaceship, their world complete. But her husband craved battle and she fought at his side, working to create a fairer existence.
(Can they ever put down the weight of the world and be parents to their son? She and Nick aren’t enough to keep him happy.)
And they lived happily...
Nick had kept them awake crying. Galen wasn't asleep even after Nick quieted. She looked at his tired face and said, “Maybe we can have a night to ourselves, get someone to babysit?” He didn't answer at first and didn't appear to be listening. “Hey, did you hear what I said?”
He finally responded, his tone distracted. “That sounds nice.” Later she awoke because he wasn't in bed next to her. He was trying to be quiet but she heard him close the hatch door as he left.
(What’s happening to him? He's pulling away, going somewhere she can't follow. A cold bed is tangible proof too.)
...ever after.
The fleet rushed into action to send fighters out toward the cylon basestars and he wasn’t there to help. She did her job but kept looking for him. No sign. When she finally did see him he was with Anders. “Where the hell have you been?” she asked.
“I’ll tell you later.” Running to the next ship, she saw him out of the corner of her eye; he was still standing there with Sam, looking confused.
(She shivers and doesn’t know why. She only sees her husband. She doesn’t see fangs and claws behind a mask.)
The End.
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I don't love Cally, but I am reasonably fond of her, and I know that finding out about Tyrol is one hundred per cent guaranteed to do her serious damage if not outright destroy her.
Yeah, Cally's trauma is definitely going to be big when she learns the truth. (I felt a lot more sympathy for her while writing this than I have in a long time, heh.)
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(She shivers and doesn’t know why. She only sees her husband. She doesn’t see fangs and claws behind a mask.)
The sense of foreboding is awesome, and it makes me look forward to what will happen to the Tyrols and especially Nicky, who's now a half-Cylon.
Great job!!!
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The sense of foreboding is awesome, and it makes me look forward to what will happen to the Tyrols and especially Nicky, who's now a half-Cylon.
I think I love you forever for using the word foreboding. The ending was the hardest part to this story--it was actually fun and relatively easy to write until those last few lines... it was hard to get that balance with her not knowing the whole truth but sensing something is wrong.
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Wee! Eternal vocabulary love... that's the best kind.
it was hard to get that balance with her not knowing the whole truth but sensing something is wrong.
Well, you totally nailed it. I think the last part (along with the whole fairy tale thing) shows how Cally was, in the beginning, such a romantic but now she's so pragmatic, too. She's been worn down by life and being so freakin' young.
This was another fic resulting from my cylon-induced trauma--at this rate I may as well write a Tigh-fic and Tory-fic and have a complete set for the new Four.)
For someone so freaked out by the whole Cylon reveal, you're totally in lurve with them.... hehe. They've taken over your brain. Although considering Sam and Leoben, I can't blame you... the hotness!
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For someone so freaked out by the whole Cylon reveal, you're totally in lurve with them.... hehe. They've taken over your brain.
Eeek, cylon brain possession! Help! (Okay, so maybe I lurve cylons a little.)
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And I didn't realize what it would mean for her if she acknowledged what she did to Boomer. She killed the woman Chief loved and then married him herself. I never thought if that way before.
And I liked the fairy tale too. Especially the line about "their son being born under the dark rule of the beasts." That's totally Cally's take on New Caprica and how she would've told it Nicky someday.
Except, the Chief. I have no idea how that little family is going to change after the reveal. I'm actually looking forward to it!
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Yay! I love reading fics that do that to unsympathetic characters, so I'm flattered mine worked for you. I mentioned this to someone else who commented already--writing this made me feel a lot more compassion for her than I do normally. I didn't hate her before but yeah, I didn't have much love for her either.
And I liked the fairy tale too. Especially the line about "their son being born under the dark rule of the beasts." That's totally Cally's take on New Caprica and how she would've told it Nicky someday.
I think that's part of why the fairy-tale idea stuck once it was there... because how else will they keep their history if not through exciting stories? (Of course, Tyrol being a cylon makes that whole idea more interesting... sorry Nicky, you're half-beast? Hm.)
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Her thoughts on Sharon are also interesting, especially the bit about her being a person.
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Thanks for commenting, especially since you're not a Cally-fan. (I wouldn't call myself one either, but I've never used the word loathe about her, heh.)
I think that the fairy tale inserts match her fabulously as I feel like she definatly has a talent for over-simplification.
She really does over-simplify, and I think that tendency is going to bounce back and hit her hard in season four... It's also what makes her useful in some ways (for the show)--she gives us that window on what people who aren't leading the fleet think and feel.
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The lovers' conspiracy meant she was part of a group; she shared their secret.
That feels so right for her. She did seem to love being "in on it" when she was helping Chief and Boomer sneak around, and that might seem a bit odd given her later feelings for Galen, but here it makes perfect sense.
Your parentheses are brutal. :/
She didn't know what her feelings were so she defined them by what was accomplished.
I really like this line.
She was his Cally with the small, agile hands to fix things. She tried to fix him and it worked. She pieced him together again.
Aw! And I think she actually did, if only temporarily. I'm not sure he would have recovered so quickly if she hadn't forgiven him.
I absolutely love the part where Chief opens up to hope after they discover New Caprica and convinces her to have children. There is a small typo where you repeat the words "at first."
Monsters invaded the land, some with great claws to snatch and tear, others with disguises to mask their bestial nature, siren lures and angry menaces.
I imagine that's exactly what it felt like. As well as Sharon seeming to gloat over her predicament - but also that Cally needed to see her that way. (Though really, she did her a huge favor either way! Grrr. Hate Cally-hate.)
She shivers and doesn’t know why. She only sees her husband. She doesn’t see fangs and claws behind a mask.)
Ahhhh! Poor Cally! And I'm left pondering the meaning of that ending; is it that she's failing to see him for what he truly is, or that she will start to see him that way (even though he's the same Chief he's always been) once she learns the truth? You really are the master of the devastating finishes!
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I imagine that's exactly what it felt like. As well as Sharon seeming to gloat over her predicament - but also that Cally needed to see her that way. (Though really, she did her a huge favor either way! Grrr. Hate Cally-hate.)
Writing that was one of those eye-opening moments for me. (I, uh, figure out a lot of things about characters as I write them. Kind of like my brain finally agrees to tell me what my opinion really is. Heh.) Anyway, yeah, Cally couldn't have reacted any other way to Boomer's visit. And it does irk me that so many made that moment one more reason for their Cally-hate.
The fairy-tale conceit works so well as both a window into Cally's mind and a way of adding a sense of tension and grandeur to the story.
It's funny, I didn't start out with the fairy tale; then when I had the idea I thought it was really weird, but it wouldn't go away. So there ya go.
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Hope you don't mind (does anyone?) I rec'd this story on my lj- one of those 'must read' type things. :)
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Sharon looks so broken as she talks about family and Cally hates her, hates it, because if Sharon isn’t a machine then Cally killed a person; she’s a murderer, Nick's mom is an assassin and she shot the woman Galen loved. It can’t be true.
That line TOTALLY got me. Totally explains why Cally's so irrational in her Cylon hate — she's clinging to it.
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