The Still Hour

[logopraxis]

Title: The Still Hour
Author: logopraxis 
Characters: Kara, Socrata, Dreilide
Spoilers: none, pre-series
Rating: PG-13 (for language)
Word Count: ~1400
Summary: Every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. -Tolstoy
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not making any money.

Author's Note: Here's another that has been sitting around half-finished for a while. I was sort of stuck

Comments

[shah_of_blah]

Oh, this is great. And suits the Tolstoy quote perfectly. Dreilide's such a flawed father, but it's clear why Kara might idolize him. As for Socrata, well, it's not that she's a sympathetic character (hardly) but that she's a real character. That she believes in discipline and Kara's potential--it's perfectly exemplified in the way she tugs on Kara's hair because she believes this pain will somehow make her better. Well done.

[logopraxis]

I admit I have a bit of a soft spot for Socrata. I mean, yes, she did horrible things to her kid. But she also had a pretty difficult life. And I feel like if we knew her whole story, it wouldn't be possible to vilify her as completely as we might be tempted to do from just hearing Kara's version of it. (Not that I think Kara is misrepresenting anything - just that she doesn't know the whole story either...)

Anyway, thanks so much for reading!

[shah_of_blah]

Have you read Hellfire? I think it's one of the best portrayals of Kara's childhood in terms of her relationship with her mother. Because whatever else she may be, Socrata's not one-dimensional and I think many stories fall short of capturing the Socrata shown in Maelstrom and Flesh and Bone (i.e. a woman who genuinely believed she was doing the right thing, no matter how misguided she really was).

Also I added your fic to my memories.

[logopraxis]

I just went and read it now, and I love it! Socrata goes well beyond just a caricature (and Kara/comics is a pretty awesome combination too.) Thanks for the rec!

[cynicalshadows]

This was beautiful and heartbreaking all at the same time. Excellent.

[logopraxis]

That's what I was going for... :) Thanks!

[latteaddict]

That was rather compelling and felt quite real. You really showed how Kara's parents are extreme personalities at opposite ends of the spectrum, which works really well in how Kara encapsulated both of those extremes - she can be utterly self indulgent and selfish and yet is completely hardcore as a warrior.

Thanks for sharing!

[logopraxis]

They are extremes, aren't they? Sometime I'm going to have to write a fic to figure out how they got together in the first place, because I really can't picture it at all... But yeah, in figuring out what Kara's father must have been like, I basically took her personality, subtracted those qualities that we know must have come from her mother, and tried to turn the rest into a whole person. I'm glad that sort of came across! Thanks for commenting!

[artemis_90]

Realistic picture. I can see this family, this father, this mother. All their flaws and their dependencies and their unique gestures of love. With all those details you portrayed a very real family unit.

[logopraxis]

I'm glad you could tell they do love each other... they're all so terrible at showing it that I was worried that might not come across!

Thanks for reading!

[logopraxis]

I do think Kara's parents have a lot to do with how she turned out, and for that reason alone, you can't entirely hate them, since she turned out pretty awesome. (Though of course she could have been a lot happier.)

Thanks so much for commenting!