Do's and Don'ts for a good Firefly/Serenity fic?
POSTED BY: Hippie
UPDATED: Sunday, September 24, 2006 00:15
VIEWED: 10062
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You keep asking really good questions that I can't help answering! *g*
And you keep giving me good answers, hehe.
Funnily enough i have another question (i'm so full of them today arn't i?). Regarding River and her ability to slaughter a room full of people? What are your guys thoughts on her doing this?
I really wanted to stay away from this as it just seems like a deus ex machina you can fall back on. I mean, who else could slaughter a room full of reavers in melee? But if the crew is in mortal danger how could you possibly not have River intervene..?
Anyone have any ideas, or just general thoughts on that subject?
On a smiliar note, would the Alliance still be after River and Simon in any way? It is kinda left open at the end of the BDM..
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Regarding River and her ability to slaughter a room full of people? What are your guys thoughts on her doing this?
Good question!
I think it really depends on the context. Firefly (and Firefly fanfic, by extension) is about the character journey. The plot, then, is the thing that helps build character and character growth, which is probably why the plots of several episodes (The Message, HoG) weren't as strong as they could be, as they mostly served as the thing that facillitated characterization.
River and the extent of her powers is something that deserves to be explored in fanfic. Is she a sort of super-human that can do anything? How does that effect her emotionally? How does that effect those around her? Does the crew have a right to keep worrying about their own safety (from River) post-Serenity?
I have a hard time writing River, because I find that she often gets used as a plot point. That she doesn't do much outside of creating action, or being the thing that the action happens around. Probably key to writing her is giving her time to develop as a character. If she is going to, in effect, slaughter a roomful of people, how is that going to affect her mental state? Especially the mental state of a seventeen-year-old girl who has lost the better part of her childhood? What does that DO to a person, especially as someone as sensitive to others as River?
On a smiliar note, would the Alliance still be after River and Simon in any way? It is kinda left open at the end of the BDM..
My personal theory is no, but most people don't agree with that. It's probably more exciting and dramatic if they are still fugitives, but... what's the point, really, now that the secret is out? The Alliance is going to have more important things to worry on (like covering up the Miranda scandel) than going after the people that revealed it.
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Oops. Double post.
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Double post? How convenient for me, as it allows me to randomly tell you how much I adore your thoughts here, in particular on Mal and Kaylee!
They are definitely a father/daughter constellation that's moving toward the growing up, possibly leading to an empty nest feeling for Mal, even.
It's healthy for her to stop idealizing the men in her life. It helps her understand and forgive Simon's faults and it allows her to stand up against Mal when he's wrong. But it also robs Mal of his default trusting soul, the image in her eyes that he can try to live up to, which in turn forces HIM to be a better man for his own sake.
These two characters really give each other a lot, in a completely platonic context. That's what I call excellent tv writing. *g*
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I think River is going to regain a deal of clarity post-Miranda, but she can't forget what she is, or rather, what she has been made to be. Her ability to control it, rather than to be controlled by it, is going to be interesting. But she is also still a girl, or rather, a young woman.
As for them being hunted - Blue Sun is not the government. I think it just funds them. The ultimate military-industrial complex.
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Double post? How convenient for me, as it allows me to randomly tell you how much I adore your thoughts here, in particular on Mal and Kaylee!
Ahaha! You totally cottoned on to my underlying and manipulative plan.
They are definitely a father/daughter constellation that's moving toward the growing up, possibly leading to an empty nest feeling for Mal, even.
Awwww, someone will have to buy him a puppy. That's what we did for my mom. *g*
But it also robs Mal of his default trusting soul, the image in her eyes that he can try to live up to, which in turn forces HIM to be a better man for his own sake.
Very true! You always say such pretty things.
There's certainly an innocence to the Mal/Kaylee relationship during the series that isn't as apparent in the BDM. Maybe even starting in Objects in Space, when Kaylee was threatened in both a physical and emotional way - and Captain was nowhere to be found to protect her. Unfortunately, we don't have any episodes past OiS that deal with Kaylee recovering from her confrontation with Early. Still, I don't think it's a stretch to speculate that the experience has probably changed her outlook, at least a little bit.
Post-Serenity, not only has Kaylee grown up and started to challenge Mal, but she's also building a relationship with Simon. Mal's not going to be the most important male figure in her life. Optimistically, I like to think that Mal doesn't really NEED Kaylee to tell him he's a good man anymore - he hit a very low point during Serenity, and managed to bounce back from it. Plus, he was rhapsodizing about love by the of the movie. *g*
Also, there's the River/Mal relationship to consider. That while not replacing Kaylee, River DID seem to look at Mal as part father/mentor figure by the end of the movie. As emotionally damaged as River may be, she's still a child in many ways.
But. Still. Puppy!
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Quote:
Originally posted by Goldy:
On a smiliar note, would the Alliance still be after River and Simon in any way? It is kinda left open at the end of the BDM..
My personal theory is no, but most people don't agree with that. It's probably more exciting and dramatic if they are still fugitives, but... what's the point, really, now that the secret is out?
It seems Joss and Co were undesided on this issue as well, so it is really up to fanfic writers and their preferences.
The original idea was that Blue Sun was doing the research in the Academy, and Blue Sun was much more powerful than Parliament and would be very unlikely to stop looking for their star pupil, Miranda or no.
Actually, that's how it came through in the show, comics & movie: Hands of Blue were not looking for River because of Miranda, they just wanted to get her back to the Academy. But the Operative took over because the research was interfering with the state secrets, and he overrode Hands of Blue agenda with a new one. But if Blue Sun were to play the role Joss intended originally, I'm sure they would override this agenda back, because their research was so important to them.
An interesting twist: in the early 190-page version of Serenity script it is said that MilCom (Military council or whatever) was running the Academy and not the Blue Sun, and Parliament desided to close the entire program after Miranda secret got through to River. It appeared that MilCom was under Parliament and had to obey their Operative (which Blue Sun would be unlikely to do). The Operative didn't just kill Dr.Mateus, he also closed the Academy (not clear what he did whith the rest of the people there, and pupils). I.e. the early version closed Tams arc for real, and in the end the Operative stated, in no uncertain terms, that Tams were totally free to go and were no longer fugitives.
But in the final version of the movie Joss desided to leave this issue open, and not specify the end this way or another. We do not know, in the movie, what happened to the Academy or who was running it. How we answer that would determine the answer to the original question: were Tams free to go or not.
If Academy is there and is run by a body powerful enough, then Tams will be pursuied until it's brought down somehow.
Personally I prefer to think that they are still fugitives because then their arc would continue and more adventure and angst would lie ahead. If they are no longer fugitives then it's basically the end of story and the end of Serenity as we know it.
I can't see Simon staying on Serenity for long if he's free to go and River is doing better: he has a calling, he's a genius doctor (River said so so it must be true) and if he can't pursue his calling he would never be happy and whole. It's a law of nature, of human nature, it won't work any other way. On Serenity he's functioning at maybe 5% of capacity, because the crew is so small. And most of the work he gets is because of dangers brought on by him and his sister, so if they are free that would drop to 1% or so. And I can't see River or Kaylee keeping him there, if they love him they would be looking for a compromise which would allow him to work, so it means Kaylee would leave Serenity too. I can see an arrangement where Simon and Kaylee stay in some half-decent place like Persephone maybe, making loads of cash working in their fields, as top-notch professionals they are, but still doing something with Serenity: I can see Simon doing work as Doctors without borders do now, setting up hospitals, helping in disasters etc. and going to different planets for that, and doing it on Serenity. And Kaylee doing check-ups on Serenity every time it's back in town etc. And River flying on the ship and living there while doing all the genius stuff she wanted to do before: research, art etc. So it would make for a happy ending but not for exciting storytelling.
Keeping Tams fugitives just makes it more interesting, with more story to look forward too.
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Quote:
Originally posted by MRSU:
Keeping Tams fugitives just makes it more interesting, with more story to look forward too.
I agree, their story arc would not be as interesting if that were true. But it might just be something Joss would do to throw that wrench into the Simon/Kaylee relationship and the Simon/River relationship.
"A government is a body of people usually notably ungoverned."
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Quote:
Originally posted by Hippie:
You keep asking really good questions that I can't help answering! *g*
And you keep giving me good answers, hehe.
Funnily enough i have another question (i'm so full of them today arn't i?). Regarding River and her ability to slaughter a room full of people? What are your guys thoughts on her doing this?
I really wanted to stay away from this as it just seems like a deus ex machina you can fall back on. I mean, who else could slaughter a room full of reavers in melee? But if the crew is in mortal danger how could you possibly not have River intervene..?
Anyone have any ideas, or just general thoughts on that subject?
On a smiliar note, would the Alliance still be after River and Simon in any way? It is kinda left open at the end of the BDM..
Funny you should ask. I have written River in one of my 2 Firefly fan fic. I approached her not with the extreme wild sayings and violence. In my second fan fic, it is set in the future about ten years but from the viewpoint of an outsider looking in at the crew from his point of view. I didn't want to stress just the violence River is capable of, but the precision of violence. River can perform things with such precision that it looks impossible. That's the angle I took when writing River. Besides, they're arent too many chances River can have to slaughter a group of people anyway.
As far as The Alliance, I think I have created what I believe what may have happened to them. Basically, they're not the main people in power but still hold a grudge against the Tams who knocked them off their pedestal.
Anyway, on to the shameless plug portion: the second Firefly/Serenity fanfic I wrote is called Eyewitness and you'll find it here:
http://www.fireflyfans.net/showprofile.asp?un=Madman007
The first one I wrote is called Till Death Do Us Part and it's set 8 months or so before the pilot Serenity, so no River, Simon, or Book. But, no less thrilling. It's my take on the troubles the crew had with Wash and Zoe's wedding.
Bottom line of fan fic: write a STORY. Don't just write for the sake of writing. Just enjoy it. Hope that helps! Good Luck!
"No.....THIS is what going mad feels like.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Leiasky:
But it might just be something Joss would do to throw that wrench into the Simon/Kaylee relationship and the Simon/River relationship.
Yes, but it would be a different kind of story then: a soap opera and not an epic drama. Instead of matters of life and death it would be matters of balancing work and family and whose turn it is to throw out the garbage. I'm not saying that it can't be entertaining or that it can't throw a wrench into a relationship: it can in real life, and how! It just would have been a different beast.
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