This is an absolute joy. I adore how seamlessly the Austen narrative tone switches to Serenity-speak in the dialogue. By the end, it seems entirely natural that they should think like Augustans and speak like pig farmers. And the Firefly equivalents of the various social situations are hilarious, especially Simon's offer to do "a little work" around his father-in-law's eyes, and River's "and we ate purple molded protein all the time!" It's a matchless pastiche, and the Austen lines are barely detectable, except to the eye of familiarity. I take my hat off to you, madam.
The characters in "Emma" aren't exactly *killed* for Miss Austen's wanton sport, but there is a clear separation between what the characters think of themselves, and what we are encouraged to think of them--including a feeling that, in their place, we would express ourselves with much greater elegance!--so it's a good source text for a marble cake, with a strong contrast between the coloration of the dialogue and the narration.
...and, after all, without pig farmers there would be no harmless roast pork.
I am as positively enamoured of this as I thought I'd be. :)
I particularly love the scene where Simon pretends that Kaylee's famous and also Inara's dad's discussion of food. So perfectly in keeping with the original while managing to be much much more than a mere repetition of the source material.
I especially like Inara's father and his obsessions with food.
Inara sighed, remembering very long dinners and very large plates with acres of porcelain thinly dusted with nouvelle cuisine, like the first snows of Autumn on the slopes of Fifty Emerald Mountain.
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The characters in "Emma" aren't exactly *killed* for Miss Austen's wanton sport, but there is a clear separation between what the characters think of themselves, and what we are encouraged to think of them--including a feeling that, in their place, we would express ourselves with much greater elegance!--so it's a good source text for a marble cake, with a strong contrast between the coloration of the dialogue and the narration.
...and, after all, without pig farmers there would be no harmless roast pork.
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I particularly love the scene where Simon pretends that Kaylee's famous and also Inara's dad's discussion of food. So perfectly in keeping with the original while managing to be much much more than a mere repetition of the source material.
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I guess for any time after, say, 1920 or so, Celebrity = Nobility, so the *best* thing you can say about anyone is that ze is famous.
I bet that, given the chance to be on a different planet from *her* Mom, Elizabeth Bennet would have taken it in a hearbeat.
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Inara sighed, remembering very long dinners and very large plates with acres of porcelain thinly dusted with nouvelle cuisine, like the first snows of Autumn on the slopes of Fifty Emerald Mountain.
Sounds like some restaurants I've been to.
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There must have been SOMETHING that drove Inara out into The Black, and especially around the holiday season, "her family" seems like a good guess.
And I suspect that Nouvelle Cuisine is one of those fashions that just keeps coming back, sort of like leggings.
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