Fic: Shone a Light and Called It a Star (Firefly, Mal/Jayne)

[mosca]

First: femslash06. Because one woman is sexy, but two women are double sexy.

And now, the thing where two men are also double sexy.

Title: Shone a Light and Called It a Star
Fandom: Firefly
Pairing: Mal/Jayne
Rating: NC-17
Spoilers/Continuity: Takes place during and after SerenitySummary: Jayne's mind ain't been settled since they left Miranda, and this

Comments

[van]

I can say that, as a writer myself, I get absolutely tickled pink when a reader picks up on the little things I insert into my fics and then tells me that he or she saw them and were pleased. I've been in fandoms where I could write a direct Romeo and Juliet parody and it would completely go over the reader's heads. I've discovered that Firefly fans seem to have a keener sense to see those nuisances I put in, and so it only seems fair that if I see something that particularlly stands out to me, I should note it. Hence why you got a nice review. I really love your Mal/Jayne stories, too, and you should know that. Largely because good feedback is what fuels writers and I don't want you to ever stop writing these two. *laughs*

I couldn't write my stories from the POV of just one character. (I've done it, in the past, and it's been extremely difficult for me.) On top of that, often I read fics that are written in a Firefly dialect, where it simply doesn't work. But although you wrote from Jayne's POV you didn't drop to his speech in the story. (i.e. you didn't write something like, "He figgered out that there were no place in the 'verse better 'n' Mal's bunk" but you still managed to convince the reader that it was Jayne's thoughts and views we were seeing -- that's a very hard balance to achieve and I've almost never seen it done properly in this fandom. So, super kudos to you, for that.)

I understand the need to keep the crew intact too, especially in fanfiction, but it does make sense that they would hire a new pilot. I largely got the impression that River has fulfilling her "job" on the ship being just the reader and that the piloting thing was to be temporary, at best. But, on the other hand, you do get the danger of introducing a new character and potentially having him or her take over the progress of the story. I think you overcomensated just a little with Heron: I believe Jayne would have largely ignored him (which would explain why we see so little of him) but I also think that, to some degree, he would have tested him out, a little more thoroughly, to see where they stood with each other. Anyway, he seemed to be an intriguing character, and one I'd like to see expanded, someday. Especially, perhaps, from Zoe's POV. Jayne doesn't much see a problem with replacing the pilot, but I think she might.

I've seen other stories, set many years in the future, where all of the same crew is still on Serenity and generally they don't ring true to me. Post-Serenity fics seem to pull it off a little better, working with canon as they do, but some I've read, written prior to the release of the movie, have more or less perfectly happy families on the boat, five to ten years after the end of the TV series. Joss wouldn't do that and so it feels fake to me. To that end alone, I enjoyed your choice to hire a new pilot.

And, I'm flattered you're interested in reading my Wash epic. (I've gotten the impression, in the past, that you were not a big fan of Wash, although this is based only on instinct and nothing I read.) It should be finished by the end of this month, and therefore hopefully long before your snowy winter is passed . (Although, I suppose, that depends on where you live.)

Thanks for a great reply to my review. :) Keep writing! :D

[mosca]

I've been in fandoms where I could write a direct Romeo and Juliet parody and it would completely go over the reader's heads.

Dude, tell me about it. I, um, there was one fic where I quoted William Carlos Williams? I think I can leave the rest to your imagination.

Largely because good feedback is what fuels writers and I don't want you to ever stop writing these two.

Okay, I'm the only person in fandom that's not true of. Fueled by my own ambition and impossible standards, I am. But I do appreciate thoughtful feedback.

you still managed to convince the reader that it was Jayne's thoughts and views we were seeing

Thank you. I try to strike a balance, you know? I've had long circular conversations with my betas that go, "Change it to this word." "But Jayne doesn't *know* that word." With Jayne in particular, I think a big part of it is staying within his vocabulary, his frame of reference. And that's true for everybody: I read fic where Simon is dropping "ain't"s and f-bombs, and I get the same feeling.

I think you overcompensated just a little with Heron

Yeah, I played it a little safer than I might have.

Someday, deeply friendslocked, I will post the story where Jolene, Ralley, Roxanna, and Heron meet. And any other OCs I pick up along the way.

I've seen other stories, set many years in the future, where all of the same crew is still on Serenity and generally they don't ring true to me.

Me neither. I feel like I keep saying this over and over, but life in the Fireflyverse is nasty, brutish, and short. I will never write a sequel to "Alphabet" because I assumed, when writing it, that at least one of them dies within a few years of the ending. I was amazed to glean from the feedback that not everyone else inferred this.

Besides, Joss is notorious for cycling characters in and out. On BtVS, the Scooby Gang changed every year, and there were often character deaths involved in those changes.

I've gotten the impression, in the past, that you were not a big fan of Wash, although this is based only on instinct and nothing I read.

I'm very fond of Wash, and I wrote a trio of sweet little Zoe/Wash fics last year. I'm extremely wary of other Wash pairings -- it's very hard for me to get past my fondness for Zoe/Wash, not least because it reminds me of my RL partnership. But as is true with many things, I will make exceptions for writers I like.