While the Jukebox Plays Our Favorite Song
Firefly two bits
Rayne
*yawns* Whoof, I'm sleepy. Think I'll go grab a bite to eat and then put on a movie. Today has been a little bit of a lazy day. Yay for Sunday thunderstorms. I do love them so - the perfect weather for writing.
A new Rayne idea!
Me and Mrs. Jones
Ideas: Okay, River gets married to a councellor type guy when she’s young. That is the first basic element of the story. I need his name. Heh. Um… what else? Obviously, this means she doesn’t go to the academy. She and her parents can have a big argument about this, I guess around the time she’s fourteen and that’s when her father can tell her or make the decision about the betrothal. Yes! Then she’ll try to run away, but will inevitably be forced into the marriage. So that’ll go on, and she stays because… er, I will think of a good reason. She doesn’t have the fighting skills yet, even though she’s still very, very smart. He can treat her almost like a prisoner. Yeah, I think that might be the best way. And it’s what her parents expect - and while maybe not close to them, she does care about them. So she wants to make them happy for that reason, and also because they can give her money her husband doesn’t control. She’ll probably want to keep the lifestyle she’s accustomed to; now, I don’t think that would actually make a big difference, but since I’m fiddling with the universe a little bit, I think that the characters can change accordingly. All right. Now! How to get her to meet the crew? I have the perfect idea! Her husband can hire Inara as a companion. Yes! Brilliant. Hee. Okay, but where are they? Initially I was thinking Osiris, but there’s no way that Mal would go to the Core. Hmm. Maybe they’re on vacation somewhere? Where did “Shindig” take place? Persephone? That could work, I think; except it’s mostly a city-ish place, it seems, and I sort of wanted a country, pleasant-landscape place. Hmm. Well, I can work that out later. So obviously, Inara tends to the husband - he might have hired her for awhile to be his escort. Ahh, yes! Yes, because River doesn’t like being around him anyway and she contracted a slight illness (maybe a cold) so she can’t really be on his arm. That means Inara will be around the house for awhile and she can get to know River a little. Then, the husband guy will leave a day (or a few hours or something) before Inara does, and River - who was supposed to meet him - can hitch a ride with Inara! Yes! It’s brilliant! Ha ha. I have no idea how to work Simon in there, though… Erm, maybe he can come visit or something. Or River’s husband is really important in the Alliance and he gets mad at the Tams and sort of banishes them. Ooh, bwa ha ha. Okay, that could totally work. Probably - I’d have to iron out the details, but so far that sounds very, very do-able.
And! Part of "Evolution" chapter 6
River wrapped herself in the thick, yellow blanket that the Cobb matriarch had made for her. There was a dull hammering at her temples - it had been there for hours (pounding, pounding) and she still hadn’t found the cause.
Jayne sat down beside her in the little lounge area, nursing a cup of pungent black coffee and a hangover - she could taste his remorse in sour, vigorous waves that he had had so much to drink the previous evening. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and grunted.
“Greetings to you, too, man with a girl’s name.”
Jayne made a disparaging sort of noise and took a long sip of his coffee. “Yeah, whatever you… you girl with a… water’s name.”
River gave a soft, half-hearted giggle. Jayne’s feeble attempt at an insult was actually quite amusing to her, but the headache she’d had since she woke up overrode any humor. She could certainly sympathize with Jayne’s plight, though she felt that his achey cranium was very richly deserved. He’d spent the evening prior in pursuit of cheap whiskey and cheaper women. Whether he found the first, she could only speculate (his hangover a rather telling symptom), but she knew he had found the latter. She never really meant to spy on him, but, on occasions that were growing more and more frequent, she found herself seeking out his mental signature.
“My name is perfectly acceptable; you should not malign it.”
“Yeah, acceptable.” He looked at her intently. “So’s mine.” He growled and took another sip of his coffee. River closed her eyes - Jayne was enjoying his drink so much it registered on her radar, and she could almost imagine it sliding down her own throat. “Gorram,” he muttered, rubbing his forehead with two thick, grimy fingers. “My head’s killin’ me.”
She sniffed in disapproval. “Perhaps you should not have consumed such a large volume of alcohol.”
Jayne shrugged. “The girls kept pourin’, so I kept drinkin’.”
“What girls?” River asked.
He grinned lasciviously. “They were some damn fine whores. The one I got - she was like what’s ‘er… like Nandi. Used to be a Companion once.” He shook his head in - what was in River’s opinion far too fond - rememberance. His mood had lifted several rungs already; very few things in the ‘verse could cheer Jayne up like the thought of voluptuous female bodies. He turned to her to say something else, when suddenly there was a pop of realization.
He touched the soft knitted yellow of the blanket, right at her knee; River could feel the soft, accidental brush of his hand through the thick weave. A little startled, she pulled her leg closer to her body, looking up at him through her hair.
“This is the blanket my Ma made for ya, ain’t it?”
River nodded. “Yes. “ She pulled it a little tighter around her shoulders. “It is very warm.”
“O’ course,” he said with a frown, “you think she’d be sendin’ you somethin’ shoddy?”
“Would never accuse her of such,” River assured him.
***
Now this. Heh. So far, I like what I have. And I basically know what I want to happen in the rest of the chapter - it's just a matter of getting it written, I think. And I haven't read any of the accompanying Firefly things (comics, novel, etc.) but I think I read somewhere (like Wikipedia, maybe) that the Blue Hands die. I was going to have them be the bad thing that's messing with River, but because of that I think I'll have to find a new baddie. I'm thinking Reavers. Or maybe just a really nasty human-y guy. I'm not sure just yet. Also, timeline. This takes place quite awhile after the last chapter, but because of the basic conceit of the story (the "stepping stone") idea, I think it's okay to have time inconsistencies between the chapters. Enough time has passed that they've gone on lots of missions together and even though neither would say that they're friends, they're comfortable with each other. And now that I think about it, they trust each other, too. It's one of those unconscious things that they don't realize they have.
I also wanted to show, just barely, that River might be developing a small crush on him. Now I may take that out because I'm not sure how I feel about it yet, but for right now the implication's there. And I hope it's subtle - heh. I really, really, really don't want it to be overt.
Also, after River has her fit and Jayne's comforting her, I want him to sing to her. (Remember how I said that in chapter 4? Yeah, total set-up. That also has another purpose - I want to reiterate again that nothing romantic has happened yet. When I said this was going to be slow, I meant slow. I want a little more than that to happen, though. I mean, I have a great ending to this chapter! Want me to tell you? Okay, I'll tell ya. They sing the Hero of Canton song and at the end, River says his name. Ahh teh fluff an' cute. But I might extend it... ? I don't know yet. I will if I think of an ending I like as much as that one.) But - back to where I was before the parentheses - I don't have songs! I guess I'll make some up. Maybe a drinking song, a lullaby... That'll be good, I think. Hee.
Okay! Now to go work on this some more. Sweet.
Obviously, I've been busy! Hee. Yeah, well that's all for now. I'll probably post again tomorrow if I have anything new written.
Rayne
*yawns* Whoof, I'm sleepy. Think I'll go grab a bite to eat and then put on a movie. Today has been a little bit of a lazy day. Yay for Sunday thunderstorms. I do love them so - the perfect weather for writing.
A new Rayne idea!
Me and Mrs. Jones
Ideas: Okay, River gets married to a councellor type guy when she’s young. That is the first basic element of the story. I need his name. Heh. Um… what else? Obviously, this means she doesn’t go to the academy. She and her parents can have a big argument about this, I guess around the time she’s fourteen and that’s when her father can tell her or make the decision about the betrothal. Yes! Then she’ll try to run away, but will inevitably be forced into the marriage. So that’ll go on, and she stays because… er, I will think of a good reason. She doesn’t have the fighting skills yet, even though she’s still very, very smart. He can treat her almost like a prisoner. Yeah, I think that might be the best way. And it’s what her parents expect - and while maybe not close to them, she does care about them. So she wants to make them happy for that reason, and also because they can give her money her husband doesn’t control. She’ll probably want to keep the lifestyle she’s accustomed to; now, I don’t think that would actually make a big difference, but since I’m fiddling with the universe a little bit, I think that the characters can change accordingly. All right. Now! How to get her to meet the crew? I have the perfect idea! Her husband can hire Inara as a companion. Yes! Brilliant. Hee. Okay, but where are they? Initially I was thinking Osiris, but there’s no way that Mal would go to the Core. Hmm. Maybe they’re on vacation somewhere? Where did “Shindig” take place? Persephone? That could work, I think; except it’s mostly a city-ish place, it seems, and I sort of wanted a country, pleasant-landscape place. Hmm. Well, I can work that out later. So obviously, Inara tends to the husband - he might have hired her for awhile to be his escort. Ahh, yes! Yes, because River doesn’t like being around him anyway and she contracted a slight illness (maybe a cold) so she can’t really be on his arm. That means Inara will be around the house for awhile and she can get to know River a little. Then, the husband guy will leave a day (or a few hours or something) before Inara does, and River - who was supposed to meet him - can hitch a ride with Inara! Yes! It’s brilliant! Ha ha. I have no idea how to work Simon in there, though… Erm, maybe he can come visit or something. Or River’s husband is really important in the Alliance and he gets mad at the Tams and sort of banishes them. Ooh, bwa ha ha. Okay, that could totally work. Probably - I’d have to iron out the details, but so far that sounds very, very do-able.
And! Part of "Evolution" chapter 6
River wrapped herself in the thick, yellow blanket that the Cobb matriarch had made for her. There was a dull hammering at her temples - it had been there for hours (pounding, pounding) and she still hadn’t found the cause.
Jayne sat down beside her in the little lounge area, nursing a cup of pungent black coffee and a hangover - she could taste his remorse in sour, vigorous waves that he had had so much to drink the previous evening. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and grunted.
“Greetings to you, too, man with a girl’s name.”
Jayne made a disparaging sort of noise and took a long sip of his coffee. “Yeah, whatever you… you girl with a… water’s name.”
River gave a soft, half-hearted giggle. Jayne’s feeble attempt at an insult was actually quite amusing to her, but the headache she’d had since she woke up overrode any humor. She could certainly sympathize with Jayne’s plight, though she felt that his achey cranium was very richly deserved. He’d spent the evening prior in pursuit of cheap whiskey and cheaper women. Whether he found the first, she could only speculate (his hangover a rather telling symptom), but she knew he had found the latter. She never really meant to spy on him, but, on occasions that were growing more and more frequent, she found herself seeking out his mental signature.
“My name is perfectly acceptable; you should not malign it.”
“Yeah, acceptable.” He looked at her intently. “So’s mine.” He growled and took another sip of his coffee. River closed her eyes - Jayne was enjoying his drink so much it registered on her radar, and she could almost imagine it sliding down her own throat. “Gorram,” he muttered, rubbing his forehead with two thick, grimy fingers. “My head’s killin’ me.”
She sniffed in disapproval. “Perhaps you should not have consumed such a large volume of alcohol.”
Jayne shrugged. “The girls kept pourin’, so I kept drinkin’.”
“What girls?” River asked.
He grinned lasciviously. “They were some damn fine whores. The one I got - she was like what’s ‘er… like Nandi. Used to be a Companion once.” He shook his head in - what was in River’s opinion far too fond - rememberance. His mood had lifted several rungs already; very few things in the ‘verse could cheer Jayne up like the thought of voluptuous female bodies. He turned to her to say something else, when suddenly there was a pop of realization.
He touched the soft knitted yellow of the blanket, right at her knee; River could feel the soft, accidental brush of his hand through the thick weave. A little startled, she pulled her leg closer to her body, looking up at him through her hair.
“This is the blanket my Ma made for ya, ain’t it?”
River nodded. “Yes. “ She pulled it a little tighter around her shoulders. “It is very warm.”
“O’ course,” he said with a frown, “you think she’d be sendin’ you somethin’ shoddy?”
“Would never accuse her of such,” River assured him.
***
Now this. Heh. So far, I like what I have. And I basically know what I want to happen in the rest of the chapter - it's just a matter of getting it written, I think. And I haven't read any of the accompanying Firefly things (comics, novel, etc.) but I think I read somewhere (like Wikipedia, maybe) that the Blue Hands die. I was going to have them be the bad thing that's messing with River, but because of that I think I'll have to find a new baddie. I'm thinking Reavers. Or maybe just a really nasty human-y guy. I'm not sure just yet. Also, timeline. This takes place quite awhile after the last chapter, but because of the basic conceit of the story (the "stepping stone") idea, I think it's okay to have time inconsistencies between the chapters. Enough time has passed that they've gone on lots of missions together and even though neither would say that they're friends, they're comfortable with each other. And now that I think about it, they trust each other, too. It's one of those unconscious things that they don't realize they have.
I also wanted to show, just barely, that River might be developing a small crush on him. Now I may take that out because I'm not sure how I feel about it yet, but for right now the implication's there. And I hope it's subtle - heh. I really, really, really don't want it to be overt.
Also, after River has her fit and Jayne's comforting her, I want him to sing to her. (Remember how I said that in chapter 4? Yeah, total set-up. That also has another purpose - I want to reiterate again that nothing romantic has happened yet. When I said this was going to be slow, I meant slow. I want a little more than that to happen, though. I mean, I have a great ending to this chapter! Want me to tell you? Okay, I'll tell ya. They sing the Hero of Canton song and at the end, River says his name. Ahh teh fluff an' cute. But I might extend it... ? I don't know yet. I will if I think of an ending I like as much as that one.) But - back to where I was before the parentheses - I don't have songs! I guess I'll make some up. Maybe a drinking song, a lullaby... That'll be good, I think. Hee.
Okay! Now to go work on this some more. Sweet.
Obviously, I've been busy! Hee. Yeah, well that's all for now. I'll probably post again tomorrow if I have anything new written.