Blue Sun Room FICTION - GENERAL
Unlikely Bedfellows, Chapter 2
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
It's here, as promised - a bit more background on Lindayne and her family, our Big Damn Heroes are off to Miranda...and the Hands of Blue are coming! In fact - they're he-eeeeere...!
CATEGORY: FICTION TIMES READ: 5118 RATING: 9.0 (G) SERIES: FIREFLY
CHAPTER 2
I.A.V. Dortmunder
In high orbit of Haven
A little later
“Commander on the Bridge!” Jenna Wilson, the First Officer, announced on seeing deVries entering, and then frowned on seeing Mal with her. “Um, sir -”
“As you were, First,” deVries stopped her, trying not to smile. “Captain Reynolds is a guest. He’s to be treated as such.”
“Yes, sir,” Wilson acknowledged, a little uneasily.
“Open a secure channel to Londinium, First - I want to speak to the Director of Planetary Security. Tell her if she asks that this isn’t a social call,” she added, scowling for some reason. Mal carefully didn’t ask her why. “Transfer to my office.”
“Aye, sir...channel open...Londinium Comms Centre responding. I have the Director, sir.”
“With me, Captain,” deVries said tersely. Mal nodded and complied.
deVries’ office was much as he’d expected - mostly bare, the usual lines of Alliance style (i.e. none) present, a scattering of personal effects, very little colour.
Except for the fish tank on her almost empty desk, containing the smallest, most brightly-coloured fish he’d ever seen. He stared at it curiously, but again said nothing.
She noticed. “It’s a meditation fish. My job can be very stressful; watching fish is very relaxing. It helps.”
“Sure,” he said noncommittally.
“Honestly, it does.”
“I ain’t arguin’.”
She was sure he was laughing at her, but decided not to pursue it. She sat at the desk and motioned him politely to step outside the camera’s pickup range; he obliged.
The screen lit up with the face of a dark-haired woman of obviously mature years, though she was wearing them very well and looked nowhere near the age she surely was. Her hair was arranged in restrained curls around her face. Her resemblance to deVries was obvious - the same cheekbones, the same jaw line, the same pale, long features.
Her eyes, though, were very different. These were an icy grey, where deVries’ were blue-grey, lacking their warmth. This was a woman unused to compromise or defiance, Mal k
Comments
Wednesday, 01 June 2011 15:24
Well, that's Chapter 2. The next one will be a while, I fear, because owing to my fractious writing style, I barely have any of it - or the next two - beyond a basic idea, i.e. a confrontation with the Hands of Blue and Lindayne's 'Serenity Moment'. The latter is in the process of changing, because of reading Naomi Klein's superb book, "The Shock Doctrine" - it's given me an idea or two. And yes, there IS a connection with Serenity Valley. Well, there will be, once I've written it...I have more of later chapters, even the last one, than Chapters 3 - 5. <shrug> It's the way I write 'em. I try not to, but...
And, of course, the burgeoning relationship (or whatever we might call it) between Mal and Lindayne is what I apologised for in the Prologue. I mean, Mal and an Alliance officer?! :)
The idea sort of sneaked up on me; at first I was going to play it for laughs, as it certainly made me laugh when it showed up, but I changed my mind. Not that there isn't room for humour, of course...
And, of course, the burgeoning relationship (or whatever we might call it) between Mal and Lindayne is what I apologised for in the Prologue. I mean, Mal and an Alliance officer?! :)
The idea sort of sneaked up on me; at first I was going to play it for laughs, as it certainly made me laugh when it showed up, but I changed my mind. Not that there isn't room for humour, of course...
Wednesday, 01 June 2011 18:41
Poor Mal. Harem management is hard for the romantically obtuse.
You're right, this could be funny. Nothing wrong with a three-plus-way so long as no one gets hurt.
You're right, this could be funny. Nothing wrong with a three-plus-way so long as no one gets hurt.
Wednesday, 01 June 2011 22:39
Uh oh, Hands of Blue. Very glad that River could sense them and that Mal took her warning seriously. Ali D :~)
"You can't take the sky from me!"
"You can't take the sky from me!"
Thursday, 02 June 2011 11:46
"Harem management"?! EH?!
The best thing about Mal and Inara's relationship is that they don't really get it - I'm not interfering with that! :)
And the ideas are beating me again...there's a character I'm about to introduce, mainly for fun, but until this morning I couldn't fit the character into the story proper. Then a way occurred to me, so Chapter 3 is now temporarily in abeyance while I write the link...aarrgghhh, I can't stop myself doing this! Anyone who says writing fanfic is easy wants their head feeling!
The next 2 or 3 chapters will get rather exciting; I'll give just a little bit away by saying that the dynamic duo of Jayne & Vera will be seein' some action, and Vera's gonna be loaded with kick-ass sniper ammo - full-jacket "Accelerator" loads with titanium cores!
One thing I forgot to ask earlier is: am I getting the characters' voices right? For example, one of my pet hates in Star Trek fic is when the writer has Spock using contractions. He DOES, but very VERY sparingly, and I HATE it when the writer forgets this. The worst offender is Lee Correy's "The Abode of Life" - Spock just doesn't sound like Spock.
So does Mal sound like Mal, etc.? This is important.
The best thing about Mal and Inara's relationship is that they don't really get it - I'm not interfering with that! :)
And the ideas are beating me again...there's a character I'm about to introduce, mainly for fun, but until this morning I couldn't fit the character into the story proper. Then a way occurred to me, so Chapter 3 is now temporarily in abeyance while I write the link...aarrgghhh, I can't stop myself doing this! Anyone who says writing fanfic is easy wants their head feeling!
The next 2 or 3 chapters will get rather exciting; I'll give just a little bit away by saying that the dynamic duo of Jayne & Vera will be seein' some action, and Vera's gonna be loaded with kick-ass sniper ammo - full-jacket "Accelerator" loads with titanium cores!
One thing I forgot to ask earlier is: am I getting the characters' voices right? For example, one of my pet hates in Star Trek fic is when the writer has Spock using contractions. He DOES, but very VERY sparingly, and I HATE it when the writer forgets this. The worst offender is Lee Correy's "The Abode of Life" - Spock just doesn't sound like Spock.
So does Mal sound like Mal, etc.? This is important.
Thursday, 02 June 2011 14:17
In geek circles, a harem simply refers to the collection of all the possible love interests for the (generally male) main character. Often times in order to improve relationships and approval with one character you have to make nice with the others, because girls talk and they don't look kindly on other girls who might be their friends being mistreated. In less monogamous versions, girls might find it more objectionable to be lead on than if a guy has genuine interest in a lot of the girls.
So here's Inara, dropping breadcrumb hints the size of a battlecruiser about attraction and chemistry being demonstrated by tendency to argue and making suggestions about what he should do about it. Surely she's not unaware of the comparison with her relationship with Mal. And, with the two wives and the husband, we have created a precedence here for polyamorous relationship and them as a viable solution for love triangles. What's more, both Lindayne and Inara might be familiar with that solution and even see it as completely normal.
Inara likes Mal, Mal likes Inara, she likes the Alliance officer, Mal likes her too. Aside from Mal's notorious prudishness and tendency to close-off from his own emotions, it doesn't seem like there's a problem here to me.
Voices seem fine.
So here's Inara, dropping breadcrumb hints the size of a battlecruiser about attraction and chemistry being demonstrated by tendency to argue and making suggestions about what he should do about it. Surely she's not unaware of the comparison with her relationship with Mal. And, with the two wives and the husband, we have created a precedence here for polyamorous relationship and them as a viable solution for love triangles. What's more, both Lindayne and Inara might be familiar with that solution and even see it as completely normal.
Inara likes Mal, Mal likes Inara, she likes the Alliance officer, Mal likes her too. Aside from Mal's notorious prudishness and tendency to close-off from his own emotions, it doesn't seem like there's a problem here to me.
Voices seem fine.
Friday, 03 June 2011 11:45
Very good points; I hadn't thought of a harem that way. in fact, I've never seen it defined in such a way...clearly I'm not the geek I thought I was. :)
And I hadn't thought of it in terms of Inara's relationship with Mal; rather, I'm still playing the they-just-don't-get-it angle...on the other hand, maybe I don't have to, after recalling Inara's reaction to Nandi getting it together with Mal...
Food for thought, Bytemite. Thanks!
And I hadn't thought of it in terms of Inara's relationship with Mal; rather, I'm still playing the they-just-don't-get-it angle...on the other hand, maybe I don't have to, after recalling Inara's reaction to Nandi getting it together with Mal...
Food for thought, Bytemite. Thanks!
Friday, 03 June 2011 19:52
No problem, I'm always happy to provide ideas and insight. :) The use of the term that way tends to come from anime, so don't worry if you're not familiar.
Heart of Gold is a fun episode if a person has any interest at all in Inara, and her reaction has a wide range of interpretation based on various fan theories and canon leak.
Generally though Inara tends to get more hurt than she does jealous (as opposed to Mal's stabby stab jealousy in Shindig). So maybe what's going on here is Inara decided if Mal's going to hook up with Lindayne for a while, she might as well prepare herself and encourage it rather than be taken by surprise.
Heart of Gold is a fun episode if a person has any interest at all in Inara, and her reaction has a wide range of interpretation based on various fan theories and canon leak.
Generally though Inara tends to get more hurt than she does jealous (as opposed to Mal's stabby stab jealousy in Shindig). So maybe what's going on here is Inara decided if Mal's going to hook up with Lindayne for a while, she might as well prepare herself and encourage it rather than be taken by surprise.
Friday, 03 June 2011 19:57
Wednesday, 08 June 2011 15:25
I'm a bit stuck at the moment on Chapter 3, so I'm taking advice from Joss, i.e. I'm distancing myself for a while. I've started writing a script, tentatively titled "The Hot Place" - I don't much like the title, but it's the best I have at present.
Also, for some bizarre reason I'm writing it backwards! This was and is entirely unintentional, but the ending occurred to me before the beginning, so I'm going with the flow. Somehow it seems to be working.
Basically: somehow (not sure how yet, since that's obviously at the beginning and I have, of course, not arrived there yet!), Mal, Zoe, Jayne and Kaylee have been stranded on Ezra (the desert world where Niska's skyplex lurks in orbit). The others have NO idea where they are, even what world they're on, or even if they're on a world at all. They're miles from anywhere, with very little water, no food...and Kaylee's badly hurt. Sorry, but for dramatic reasons I'm afraid this is necessary. I'm near tears every time I write parts of that plot line...
The drama comes in when our BDHs discover Kaylee's wound is infected, and she's becoming ill. They've no med supplies; the shuttle they were travelling in exploded after they crashed, taking what little they had with it - which is also how Kaylee was hurt, i.e. shrapnel. She can't walk, the nearest help is miles away, and she's starting to hurt, badly. Cue dramatic confrontation between Mal and Jayne, over a certain course of action Jayne's suggesting...
Meanwhile, River is going to use a new talent which she'll develop part way through "Unlikely Bedfellows", when I get to that bit - I'm saying NOTHING about what this talent is, yet. But she's going to use it to try to find our lost heroes...
No, I'm NOT going to kill Kaylee!!! She's my favourite character EVER, from ANY genre or show! You KNOW I'm not going to do that! I nearly had heart failure when I thought Joss had in the pilot! Honestly, I actually gasped "No frakkin' WAY! How COULD they?!" when that bunger Dobson shot her and Joss made us think she'd died in the infirmary!
I mean, the heroes never die (usually), but since you already know that, the fun is in seeing how they get out of whatever hell the writer's subjected them to.
They'll be okay. Honest.
Also, for some bizarre reason I'm writing it backwards! This was and is entirely unintentional, but the ending occurred to me before the beginning, so I'm going with the flow. Somehow it seems to be working.
Basically: somehow (not sure how yet, since that's obviously at the beginning and I have, of course, not arrived there yet!), Mal, Zoe, Jayne and Kaylee have been stranded on Ezra (the desert world where Niska's skyplex lurks in orbit). The others have NO idea where they are, even what world they're on, or even if they're on a world at all. They're miles from anywhere, with very little water, no food...and Kaylee's badly hurt. Sorry, but for dramatic reasons I'm afraid this is necessary. I'm near tears every time I write parts of that plot line...
The drama comes in when our BDHs discover Kaylee's wound is infected, and she's becoming ill. They've no med supplies; the shuttle they were travelling in exploded after they crashed, taking what little they had with it - which is also how Kaylee was hurt, i.e. shrapnel. She can't walk, the nearest help is miles away, and she's starting to hurt, badly. Cue dramatic confrontation between Mal and Jayne, over a certain course of action Jayne's suggesting...
Meanwhile, River is going to use a new talent which she'll develop part way through "Unlikely Bedfellows", when I get to that bit - I'm saying NOTHING about what this talent is, yet. But she's going to use it to try to find our lost heroes...
No, I'm NOT going to kill Kaylee!!! She's my favourite character EVER, from ANY genre or show! You KNOW I'm not going to do that! I nearly had heart failure when I thought Joss had in the pilot! Honestly, I actually gasped "No frakkin' WAY! How COULD they?!" when that bunger Dobson shot her and Joss made us think she'd died in the infirmary!
I mean, the heroes never die (usually), but since you already know that, the fun is in seeing how they get out of whatever hell the writer's subjected them to.
They'll be okay. Honest.
Thursday, 14 July 2011 16:14
Aaaarrggghhh, I'm wonderin' if I'll EVER finish writin' this!
I've just read Finding Serenity and Serenity Found, and those marvellous pieces of work have made me think yet again about what's happening in my fics. Plenty of food for thought - so much so that the gorram thoughts are gettin' fat! What with this, and an eye test (I was diagnosed with early-onset glaucoma 2 years ago, yet I'm only 45...go figure), tryin' to get a job, helping my dad move into a flat, I've hardly had time. But I WILL get back to this, and to The Hot Place.
AND to a THIRD fic I'm writing, viz. Wash Day. Have I mentioned this before? It's more of an interlude than an episode, though there will be a reference relevant to yet another fic I'm planning to write.
Basically, Inara realises that Zoe hasn't really dealt with Wash's death; instead, she fell back on her training on Mr. Universe's moon, turned Mrs. Washburne off for a while and put Corporal Alleyne in her place, and locked the whole gorram thing down TIGHT. True, it was necessary, but what happens when things calm down and she has time to think, and to miss Wash? Answer: she slowly, subtly, starts to fall apart.
Inara comes up with a classic, if cliched, solution: a Girls' Night Out. She takes Zoe, Kaylee and River for a night on the town on Beaumonde (no, not to the Maidenhead - River is...well, here's a quick excerpt:
Fanty: About that crazy girl.
Mingo: The one with excessively violent tastes -
Fanty: - or a taste for excessive violence?
Mingo: Whichever.
Fanty: The one YOU brought in, Mal.
Mingo: Not the best way to do business.
Mal: Neither was tryin' to stiff us for an extra 15%.
Fanty: Should've been more like 50% total, after what she pulled.
Mingo: Lotta damage done. Costly.
Fanty: Customers weren't exactly intact, neither.
Mingo: So we made a decision.
Mal (warily): Yeah?
Fanty: Banned.
Mingo: Unconditionally.
Mal: For how long?
Fanty: FOREVER!
Mingo: And that probably isn't long enough!
Ahem. There's dressin' up, discussion of the boys' merits & failings, fine food, drink (oh, wait, I HAVE mentioned this before somewhere! Oh well!) and True Confessions.
I WILL write it.
I've just read Finding Serenity and Serenity Found, and those marvellous pieces of work have made me think yet again about what's happening in my fics. Plenty of food for thought - so much so that the gorram thoughts are gettin' fat! What with this, and an eye test (I was diagnosed with early-onset glaucoma 2 years ago, yet I'm only 45...go figure), tryin' to get a job, helping my dad move into a flat, I've hardly had time. But I WILL get back to this, and to The Hot Place.
AND to a THIRD fic I'm writing, viz. Wash Day. Have I mentioned this before? It's more of an interlude than an episode, though there will be a reference relevant to yet another fic I'm planning to write.
Basically, Inara realises that Zoe hasn't really dealt with Wash's death; instead, she fell back on her training on Mr. Universe's moon, turned Mrs. Washburne off for a while and put Corporal Alleyne in her place, and locked the whole gorram thing down TIGHT. True, it was necessary, but what happens when things calm down and she has time to think, and to miss Wash? Answer: she slowly, subtly, starts to fall apart.
Inara comes up with a classic, if cliched, solution: a Girls' Night Out. She takes Zoe, Kaylee and River for a night on the town on Beaumonde (no, not to the Maidenhead - River is...well, here's a quick excerpt:
Fanty: About that crazy girl.
Mingo: The one with excessively violent tastes -
Fanty: - or a taste for excessive violence?
Mingo: Whichever.
Fanty: The one YOU brought in, Mal.
Mingo: Not the best way to do business.
Mal: Neither was tryin' to stiff us for an extra 15%.
Fanty: Should've been more like 50% total, after what she pulled.
Mingo: Lotta damage done. Costly.
Fanty: Customers weren't exactly intact, neither.
Mingo: So we made a decision.
Mal (warily): Yeah?
Fanty: Banned.
Mingo: Unconditionally.
Mal: For how long?
Fanty: FOREVER!
Mingo: And that probably isn't long enough!
Ahem. There's dressin' up, discussion of the boys' merits & failings, fine food, drink (oh, wait, I HAVE mentioned this before somewhere! Oh well!) and True Confessions.
I WILL write it.
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