My Story is Confusing by Phaedra

PHAEDRA'S BLOG

Phaedra

My Story is Confusing
Saturday, September 17, 2005

Ok, so it has come to my attention that my saga is abysmally confusing. (I give I, Claudius a run for its money when it comes to complexity.) This fact is not helped by the additional fact I post roughly every four months.

In form and pacing, this story resembles Deadwood far more closely than it does the pacing of Firefly (i.e. there a lot of dialogue with very little explanation and if you skip an installment things may not make sense). So I thought a little guide might be helpful. If this experiment is successful, then I’ll update this blog with the chapters.

The Pillow Book of Inara Serra: A Readers Guide to Madness

This story takes place a little less than 20 years after the end of the show. Mal and Inara finally got together and even had a child, Serenity. The Second War for Independence breaks out. Unfortunately, Mal loses Inara in the early days of the War. The circumstances leading up to her loss are such that Mal hates her memory and even their child. Mal has been further wounded by the loss of several members of his original crew. Those who survived have been living on Mal’s home planet of Shadow. Tensions tend to run high on the home front.

Mal and his new crew, including Wash and Zoe’s son- Josh, are a special forces unit known as the Suicide Squad. They specialize in “anarchy.” On the other side of the verse, old (Atherton Wing) and new enemies (Ambassador Kali and Chancellor Lang) conspire to crush the Independence and bring victory to the Alliance. As part of their mackintoshes, Shadow has been invaded. The outcome of the war and the lives of those that are trapped in it matter a great deal to several interested parties. They deploy spies and agents to help influence outcomes. This story takes place in the final year of the war with lots of flashbacks.

The series contains strong language, sex, drug/alcohol abuse, violence, adult themes, and permutations there of. If it were an episode, it would incur heavy fines from the FCC. It should not be read by children or those who take offense to the aforesaid subject matter.

Dramatists Personae

Main Characters

Malcolm (Mal) Reynolds- Browncoat, Captain of Serenity, Commander of the Independent Battleship Eumenide, estranged lover of Inara Serra
Inara Serra- Companion, estranged lover of Mal
Serenity (Nitty) Reynolds- teenage daughter of Inara Serra, paternity contested

Kaylee Tam né Frye- Mechanic of Serenity, married to Simon Tam, a yi (auntie) to Serenity Reynolds and Josh Washburn-Warren
Jayne Cobb- Mercenary in love with Kaylee, substitute father of Serenity
River Tam- Disturbed woman, sister of Simon Tam

Matthew (Mat) Summers- Blue Sun Assassin in the employ of Ambassador Kali (mission unknown), son of Amy and William Summers

Crew of Serenity
Zoe Warren- 2nd in command of Serenity, wife of Hobban (Wash) Washburn, mother of Josh Washburn-Warren
Hobban (Wash) Washburn- Pilot, husband of Zoe Warran father of Josh
Simon Tam- Doctor, brother of River Tam, husband of Kaylee Tam
Shepherd Book- Preacher

Alliance
Chancellor Alexandrous Láng (the Wolf)- Leader of the Alliance, CEO of the Blue Sun Corporation, Member of the Hundred Worthy Families
Ambassador Agripina (Pina) Kahli- Agent of the Companion’s Guild, mistress of Chancellor Láng, always shrouded in numerous black veils
General Atherton Wing- Leader of the Alliance forces, Member of the Hundred Worthy Families
Councilor Shan Yu XIV- Member of the Alliance Parliament, Agent of the Companions Guild assigned to befriend and watch Wing

The Guild
Ishtar- Shen Sheng Wu de Mah (Holy Mother of God) Leader of the Guild
Jie (Sister) Shan Li- Second in Command
Mai- Acolyte, assistant, companion, and conscious of Ambassador Kahli

Crew of the Eumenide
Sergeant Joshua (Josh) Washburn-Warren- 2nd in command of Eumenide, son of Zoe and Wash, all around nice guy with his daddy’s penchant for tacky attire and his mama’s knowledge of weaponry
Ching Shi- Pilot, all around smart-ass, the voice of reason on the boat, home planet destroyed by the Alliance, parents dead also at the hands of the Alliance
Sue Ellen- Mechanic, lover of life and anything that’s living
Juanita- Ships Doctor
Chandara- Light Weapons Expert, Mal’s fencing partner
Said- Explosives Expert
Walt- Resident mystic
Baby Ray-Ray- Youngest member of the crew

Additional Characters
Petaline- Madame, owner of The Other Heart of Gold
Johna Burges- Prostitute, Petaline’s son, enamored with Serenity
Helen- Prostitute
Badger- Spy for Atherton Wing
Sarah- Cook for the Reynold’s Ranch
William Summers- Father of Matthew Summers, committed suicide to escape further torture from the Hands of Blue
Amy Summers- Mother of Matthew Summers, prisoner of Ambassador Kali
William (Billie) Summers, Jr.- brother of Matthew Summers, killed by a fever
Steven Summers- brother of Matthew Summers, prisoner of Ambassador Kali
Mr. Croup- Blue Hand
Mr. Vandermeer- Blue Hand
Assorted soldiers, spies, government officials, servants, companions, and prostitutes

COMMENTS

Sunday, September 18, 2005 4:31 PM

MAI

Yeah, but she didn't give away the BEST half.... keep reading. Trust me.

Sunday, September 18, 2005 12:36 PM

PHAEDRA

I hope I haven't given too much away. The original blurb was more detailed and had a body count list, after comments from by brilliant beta I tried to cut spoilers out. But who knows Jossisgod may be right. Still I hope people read it. I word really hard on it, ergo (yes, I'm a lawyer) the slow postings. This comment is well taken and as I update this blog I'll be more carefull in the future.

Phaedra

Oh and I have no plans for baby eating. Everything else is up for grabs.

Sunday, September 18, 2005 10:32 AM