Dina's sex wasn't exactly meant to be a secret, more an irrelevance. I figured that one of the things the society in which the Blake's crew lived had which should have been realised a bit more fully was the relative shortage of gender-specific roles. So while Dina was always female, she didn't necessarily let this get in the way of what she was doing. Sure, there are differences in the way she thinks, and the way she fights (smaller body mass, lower centre of gravity, less physical strength)
The time passing since "Serenity" was a convenience. When Jayne showed up for the cameo, I had to think fast (I really hadn't intended him to be there, but when I cast the role, there he was, large as life and twice as rowdy). Having Kaylee present meant one of the ongoing "hooks" in the series (yes, this is going to be a series of stories; it wound up being planned that way!) would be knocked out of the way very quickly. So that meant this had to be set either pre-Kaylee, or post-Serenity. I chose post-Serenity because it was a time which was nice and easily explicable.
Dina actually owes one hell of a lot in conception to Han Solo, Mal Reynolds, Captain Jack Sparrow, and a few other swashbuckling solo captains. I figured it was time to let a woman in to see what she could do. Putting her in the same ship as Avon is effectively an exercise in annoyance - I wanted to see what would happen if Avon were confronted not only by an ancient computer, but also by a captain he couldn't easily intimidate.
And that is how it should be! In my default SF universe, one's sex (or race, or skin colour) just don't matter; one's abilities do. Dina is a wonderful character. I'd have liked a small hint about what she looked like though--short, tall, skin and hair colour--so I could create a picture of her in my mind. I'm very visual and at the moment, she's average height and fairly blocky with short light-brown hair.
I am delighted there'll be more.
I chose post-Serenity because it was a time which was nice and easily explicable.
I've started in on the next installment already, and there's a bit more description of Dina in there. To be honest, I'm not really a visual person, so if I specify something about a character, it's because there's a plot reason. I shall have to think up some kind of plot reason for Dina's physical appearance to be described by either character.
Hmmm.... excuse me, there's a plot bunny nibbling my ankles with a suggestion for a further installment. Or something similar.
Dina's sex wasn't exactly meant to be a secret, more an irrelevance. I figured that one of the things the society in which the Blake's crew lived had which should have been realised a bit more fully was the relative shortage of gender-specific roles. So while Dina was always female, she didn't necessarily let this get in the way of what she was doing. Sure, there are differences in the way she thinks, and the way she fights (smaller body mass, lower centre of gravity, less physical strength)
The time passing since "Serenity" was a convenience. When Jayne showed up for the cameo, I had to think fast (I really hadn't intended him to be there, but when I cast the role, there he was, large as life and twice as rowdy). Having Kaylee present meant one of the ongoing "hooks" in the series (yes, this is going to be a series of stories; it wound up being planned that way!) would be knocked out of the way very quickly. So that meant this had to be set either pre-Kaylee, or post-Serenity. I chose post-Serenity because it was a time which was nice and easily explicable.
Dina actually owes one hell of a lot in conception to Han Solo, Mal Reynolds, Captain Jack Sparrow, and a few other swashbuckling solo captains. I figured it was time to let a woman in to see what she could do. Putting her in the same ship as Avon is effectively an exercise in annoyance - I wanted to see what would happen if Avon were confronted not only by an ancient computer, but also by a captain he couldn't easily intimidate.
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And that is how it should be! In my default SF universe, one's sex (or race, or skin colour) just don't matter; one's abilities do. Dina is a wonderful character. I'd have liked a small hint about what she looked like though--short, tall, skin and hair colour--so I could create a picture of her in my mind. I'm very visual and at the moment, she's average height and fairly blocky with short light-brown hair.
I am delighted there'll be more.
I chose post-Serenity because it was a time which was nice and easily explicable.
And you don't have to fit in with canon!
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Hmmm.... excuse me, there's a plot bunny nibbling my ankles with a suggestion for a further installment. Or something similar.
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