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selenak: (Six by Nyuszi)
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The Quality of Mercy (3780 words) by Selena
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Battlestar Galactica: 2003
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Laura Roslin & Gaius Baltar, Laura Roslin & Tory Foster
Characters: Laura Roslin, Gaius Baltar, Caprica Six, Tory Foster, Ellen Tigh
Additional Tags: Character Study, Missing Scene
Summary:

Four conversations Laura Roslin has in the four weeks before the end.



BSG was a big fandom in its day, and I always found it great that Laura Roslin - female but not young, politician, a Queen rather than a Warrior - was one of its most popular characters. For a long time, she was also my favourite on the show; not any longer for the last two seasons, but that doesn't mean I turned against her; she certainly remained among my top characters, and I found it very frustrating indeed that in the second half of season 4, i.e. the last season, she hardly got any more scenes that she didn't share with one of my least favourite characters, Bill Adama, and that weren't more about him than about her. Which was one of the reasons why I wrote this story, which is basically a series of missing late s4 scenes addressing Laura's non-Bill relationships and issues that, with time running out for her, she wants to deal with.

Writing it proved cathartic and restored my fannish zen about BSG's last season. It's entirely canon compatible, and simply adds. Re: the title, excuse the pretentious Shakespeare quote. It's from Portia's big court speech in The Merchant of Venice - "The quality of mercy knows no strains..." etc. -, and the irony of Portia pleading for mercy when a few moments later she'll, for a modern audience that regards forced conversion as abhorrent, show none to Shylock, seemed to me be eminently suitable for Laura Roslin.



1. Something Old
2. Something New
3. Something you made for someone else
4. Something you made just for yourself

6. Something for a minor fandom/pairing/character
7. Something you're just really proud of

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