To Whom It May Concern: Future Quotes Finale

POSTED BY: zoid
UPDATED: Sunday, June 20, 2004 06:50
VIEWED: 13201
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ZOID

Monday, June 7, 2004 1:54 AM

(SPECULATION /'SPOILERS'? AHEAD!)
Greetings, Fellow Browncoats!

As some of you know, I have promised to repost all nine entries in my 'future quote' tagline series, along with a brief synopsis of each, and the hidden meanings and other 'quirky bits' concealed in them. I will keep that promise by posting that 7-pages of text on this thread tomorrow. That was honestly as 'brief' as I could make it. Seriously.

But I'd really -- sort of -- rather not. It's actually very specific, and the fun is in the mystery, is it not? I mean, are y'all sure you want me to do this? If you think I should post it, this message will serve as the spoiler space.

I'm not a total boob. I know there are probably as many people around these parts who wish I'd just go away, as there are those who are interested in my drivel. But I've started this, there are many who like them, and I'm going to see it finished. The question is, then, do those who enjoy the 'future quotes' want me to reveal everything, or just leave it as is?

As an analogy, Inara is bathing in her shuttle. We could leave it as Joss originally filmed it, with only the back and side shots, where we see only the merest hint of the curve of a breast, leaving the rest to the imagination... Or we can just turn her around unceremoniously and go full frontal, dispelling any remaining mystique she holds... Okay, so probably not a very good analogy... But, the point is: Isn't it better not to definitively know? In our imagination, her breasts are perfect, by what ever standard we hold perfection to. If you bare her, then her breasts are whatever they are, whether they suit you or not.

(okay, that's enough talking about Inara's breasts. zoid needs a drink of ice water, as in right now)

I'll leave it to you to decide. Post your votes here. When I wake up at 0400 in the morning tomorrow, I'll tally the votes, and do what y'all have decided, before I leave for work at 0500.

Vote 'Yes' if you want the full explanation.

Vote 'No' if you want to leave them unexplained.

I really appreciate your help in this matter. I'm genuinely torn over what to do ('cause on the one hand, zoid really does want to see Inara's brea... um, i mean, the veil of mystery dispelled). In the meantime, I'm posting just the quotes for now -- no explanations accompanying -- so y'all can re-read them.

Maybe that'll help folks make up their minds which way to vote. Don't forget to vote. Lack of any votes means I go ahead and post the 'explanations' version tomorrow before 5:00AM CDT.

'Future Quotes'
_________________________________________________

Week 1:

"River didn't fix faith. Faith fixed River."

- Senator Richard 'Book' Wilkins, Independent Congress
author of A Child Shall Lead Them: A History of the Second War of Independence
_________________________________________________

Week 2:

"River? I thought she was a sweet girl. Of course, we were all sure she was crazy, too."

- Inara Reynolds, Secretary of Ecumenical Affairs
from A Child Shall Lead Them: A History of the Second War of Independence Wilkins, Richard
_________________________________________________

Week 3:

"River and me was best friends, back then. I named my first-born daughter after her. 'Course, you can't swing a dead cat 'round here on I-Day without hittin' a River..."

- Kaywinnit Tam, wife and mother of 6, Jiangyin; from A Child Shall Lead Them: A History of the Second War of Independence Wilkins, Richard
_________________________________________________

Week 4:

(Of River) "Little Sis? I could see big things for her all along. Her and her brother both. I always knew they'd be worth something, y'know?"

- Jayne Cobb, Game Warden and co-proprietor, "Cretaceous Park", Hera; from A Child Shall Lead Them: A History of the Second War of Independence Wilkins, Richard
_________________________________________________

Week 5:

"I felt sorry for River. If you can bel

JEBBYPAL

Monday, June 7, 2004 2:29 AM

Oh boy, I get to be the first to weigh in:)

Yes, I'm a tad excitable.

After reading all the quotes together, I totally understand your feelings Zoid. And quite frankly, they echo here. However, I'm gonna confuse you by giving you 2 answers. 1.) If you plan on developing more quotes w/in the series, don't tell us anything yet. Explain it after it's all done (hint hint, fanfic here).

2.) If you're done. Go ahead, tell us. I never was any good at keeping a secret. And yes, I do occassionally flip to the last page of a book. I'm evil.

Waiting impatiently for your final decision.

The Strawberry Monkey
http://p221.ezboard.com/bfireflyfanficawards

SHINY

Monday, June 7, 2004 2:51 AM

Kaylee has 6 kids, Simon 4? :(

Please help Haken keep this site running by occasionally clicking on some of the sponsored ad links on the side of the page!

ZOID

Monday, June 7, 2004 3:06 AM

Shiny wrote:

Quote:
Kaylee has 6 kids, Simon 4? :(

Correct. Not a typo. Vote yea or nay. Tomorrow, all will be revealed, unless the fans request otherwise.

BTW, Jebbypal, I am finished with the series and not going to write fanfic. I'm taking your vote as a 'Yes'.

Respectfully,

zoid

WHEDONESQUE

Monday, June 7, 2004 3:18 AM

Well, Zoid, I happen to be one of those who have really enjoyed your 'Future Quotes' series. I get the impression that you started them as a personal exercise, but I am glad that you decided to share them with us as you did. I can't wait to read your 'brief' explaination of the whole series. As for you reservations about revealing all...

1) The people who don't want to read the explaination, don't have to. In every post of yours that I have read, you have been careful to state your intent up front. The fact that this thread exists shows that you are giving those who want to maintain the mystery a chance to do so.

2) Your future quotes are YOUR THEORY of what could happen in the future world of Firefly. I happen to think it is a complex, fascinating, well-thought-out theory, but it is not canon. Neither the upcomming explaination nor the quotes themselves are spoilers.

3) I don't see this as a mystique-dispelling full-frontal shot. I see this as the 'commentary' on a beautiful, soft shot that hints at perfection. I don't care to do away with the power of suggestion and reveal all, but I really want some insight into how and why the creative mind who conceived it realized his vision. (quick - duck - this analogy is about to snap)

Anyway, Zoid, you seem to have a very interesting brain 'full of twists and cul-de-sacs' and I would really like to read more about you future quotes, how they came to be and what they mean (and hint at).

Again, thanks for sharing.

We did the impossible and that makes us mighty. Mal - 'Serenity'

JESS

Monday, June 7, 2004 3:30 AM

I vote yes. Veils of mystery just make me more curious.

MANATREE

Monday, June 7, 2004 5:11 AM

I say yes, too. I've loved reading the quotes and am looking forward to more of the story. Besides, like WHEDONESQUE has already said, if someone likes the mystery, they certainly don't need to read the thread!

HOWDYROCKERBABY1

Monday, June 7, 2004 5:25 AM

yes, i want to know!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
MAL: This is my scrap of nowhere. You go on and find your own.
SAFFRON: You can't just leave me here, on this
lifeless piece of crap moon...
MAL: Sure I can.
SAFFRON: I'll die.
MAL: Well, as a courtesy, you might start
getting busy on that, cause all this chatter ain't doin' me any kindness.

NOOCYTE

Monday, June 7, 2004 6:19 AM

I'm gonna weigh in with a resounding YES (yesyesyes...).

Department of Redundancy Department

ZOID

Monday, June 7, 2004 9:41 AM

Jebbypal, Shiny, Whedonesque, Jess, Manatree, HowdyRockerBaby1, Noocyte, et ma familia (has anybody seen Delia?):

Okay 4:33AM and here goes nothing (although, a verrry looong nothing):

Fellow Browncoats:

As promised, this is a repost of all nine 'future quotes' as appended to the end of my longer posts for the past, well, nine weeks. No skipping ahead! I don't write 'fanfic', and I'm not writing a Firefly-based novel. As for the tags, lots of people have written me to tell me how much they have enjoyed them, which is most gratifying.

Here's how I have described the 'future quote' concept: I made 'em up. First, I had some very specific ideas about where JW & Co. might be taking specific characters, and the series as a whole. So, while everyone else uses their favorite actual quotes from the series (and they're my favorites, too), I came up with 'future quotes', written from the perspective of where I think the show would eventually go. Rather than spell that future out in 'fanfic' style, I preferred to just dance around it tantalizingly. (Well, I guess, no more dancing around, hmm?)

This is also in the tradition of sci-fi novels, wherein Frank Herbert (just for instance) quotes Princess Irulan's historical account of Paul's rise to the status of God Emperor, even while Paul's story is still being revealed to the reader.

All nine characters have now commented, in a candid, off-hand way about River – with the exception of River, who commented on the 'mystery man', as he has come to be known this past week. Through the various comments and the short identification of the speaker – fashioned after a history book citation – I have hinted at my predictions about how the 'big picture' story arc will go. It's been great fun to do.

Anyway, I'm glad some have enjoyed them. No skipping ahead! I won't leave anyone hanging; if anyone has still got questions, I'll answer them for the remainder of this week; after that, I'll email responses through the questioner's Profile page (make sure your FFFn account has the correct email data).

I won't speak to the topic again on FFFn after this week. For those members who have found the 'future quotes' a pain too great to bear: Thank you for your polite indulgence. It is almost over, now. Without further ado then, here are the 'quotes' in their original order (no skipping ahead!), with as brief a synopsis of each as I could manage...

WEEK 1:

"River didn't fix faith. Faith fixed River."

- Senator Richard 'Book' Wilkins, Independent Congress, author of A Child Shall Lead Them: A History of the Second War of Independence

Explanation:

Pretty simple: Book is actually General Richard Wilkins, the Alliance mastermind of the "deep flank" maneuver that obviated the defeat of the Independents at Serenity Valley on Hera. After the Second War of Independence (WoI II), in which the Alliance/BlueSun were finally obliterated as a force in society, he holds a Senate seat in the Independent Planetary Congress. His quote is a play on his line to River, "You don't fix faith, River. It fixes you", as heard in the "Jaynestown" ep. Given his first-hand knowledge of the events along River's path to power, he has deigned to write a history of the formative and culminating events of her ascension. The historical account is told from a viewpoint approximately five years after the end of Firefly's projected 7-year run (according to JW). I believe the series would have concluded with the final battle of WoI II.
_______________________________________________________

WEEK 2

"River? I thought she was a sweet girl. Of course, we were all sure she was crazy, too."

- Inara Reynolds, Secretary of Ecumenical Affairs, from A Child Shall Lead Them: A History of the Second War of Independence Wilkins, Richard

Explanation:

Fairly self-explanatory, straight-forward description of how everyone felt about River during season 1 of the series. Quirky bits: Inara's last name is Reynol

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