River's way by Bytemite

FIREFLY UNIVERSE

River's way

POSTED BY: BYTEMITE
UPDATED: Saturday, July 3, 2010 14:48
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VIEWED: 6951
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Friday, July 2, 2010 10:19 AM

It's a few months after Miranda, and a combination of boredom, frustration, and a gloomy mood he can't quite understand has Jayne thinking it's time to move on from Serenity.

He does feel some guilt over this, after they'd stood together like they had, he feels some loyalty to them.

Loyalty is a new feeling for Jayne. He doesn't much like it.

So he needs to show everyone he's still bad, and he thinks he should try to make some money out of it too, and to get off the ship, and away from Mal. Not being a man to learn from his mistakes, he thinks up another plan to sell out Simon and River, being all Serenity has that's of any real value. Only this time, he's going to use some middlemen, and let THEM deal with the Feds.

River knows what he's planning, and doesn't like it. She decides to teach him a lesson.

River:

A) Acts crazy and pitiful until Jayne's guilt eats at him and he can't go through with it.

B) Stages an elaborate game of cat and mouse, then turns the table on Jayne in the end in such a way that Jayne ends up locked in his bunk unconscious. Wacky hijinks, improbable gymnastics, environment tactics, and possibly even a small makeshift engineering trap with pulleys, a conveyor belt, and several cans of beans are involved.

C) Actually goes with Jayne to the meet spot, and when the middlemen inevitably turn on Jayne, she saves his lousy duplicitious hide.

D) Actually goes with Jayne to the meet spot, the middlemen turn on them, and while beating the living daylights out of the middlemen, she "accidentally" hits Jayne a couple times.

E - Pulls that same trick she did on Badger, then convinces the middlemen she's a deep cover agent and bagging her would buy them naught but trouble, but turning in Jayne would net them a smallish bit of coin and potential gratitude.

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Friday, July 2, 2010 3:11 PM

MINCINGBEAST

Rad hypothetical!

I like Jayne treacherous and dumb. If we learned anything from Mal, and Miranda, its that trying to make people better is wicked and hopeless. This means that trying to change people is wicked and hopeless. Hence, Mal will always be a rotten bully, River crazy, Inara a whore, Jayne a snake, Simon a sissy, Kaylee boring, and Wash dead.

I prefer option B, which while suggestive of Home Alone, is suitably wacky and resonant with the way River dealt with Early. Also, I enjoy Jayne's humiliation.

I was alarmed, initially, that this way a Rayne prompt, and was prepared to yak.

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Friday, July 2, 2010 4:58 PM

FEARTHEBUNNYMAN

I also go with #2 - and then Mal finally thows him out the airlock - for realz this time. (third time the charm!)

But I disagree with my compadre above - Mal's not always a bully so much as a tad too controlling, Inara's a lady (personally, I think because of her profession more than in spite of it), Simon's from a different culture/class, but has more spine and courage than your average bear, and Kaylee's not so much boring as she is obvious, and she'll hit you with a wrench for suggesting it ;)

PS - was also prepared to yak. sigh of relief.

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Friday, July 2, 2010 8:19 PM

BYTEMITE

You have no faith in me. :(

People asked for a river moral dilemma, and while it's really more blue and orange morality than black, white, or grey, it kind of is a question, how innocent do you think River is, and is she non-violence, violent, or vindicative?

Should I have not put all the stuff in part B? I think it could go any of the 4 ways, but the extra description might preload the question. This wasn't my intent (it actually wasn't my intent last time with my Mal question, but when I saw the trend I tried to play it up). put the extra stuff in B because my imagination went overboard more than because of any preference.

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Friday, July 2, 2010 8:44 PM

REENACT12321

I think River may easily be the hardest to say what we'd expect to see from her, if anything our guesses would come more from our own perception than any string of traits we saw from her in the series/BDM. Up until near the end of the BDM she has been more defined by her suffering and her affliction than by her personality.

"...we need a hood ornament..."

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Friday, July 2, 2010 8:58 PM

AGENTROUKA

I disagree with the premise.

Not that Jayne may opt to betray Mal again in some way, but that he would do it through River and Simon after Miranda. Not because of any loyalty, but because he has seen the Operative and what that guy unleashed.

Jayne is stupid, but he's also... not that stupid.

If he wanted to leave in a badass traitorly way, I think he woul betray Mal in business, like he did with Marco.

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Friday, July 2, 2010 9:48 PM

ANOTHERSKY

I shall be back. This merits thinkin' on.

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Friday, July 2, 2010 10:19 PM

ANOTHERSKY

Quote:
Originally posted by Bytemite:
A) Acts crazy and pitiful until Jayne's guilt eats at him and he can't go through with it.

Straight Out No. Out of character for both of them, and pitiful and crazy ain’t exactly had a pity effect on him before.

Quote:

B) Stages an elaborate game of cat and mouse, then turns the table on Jayne in the end in such a way that Jayne ends up locked in his bunk unconscious. Wacky hijinks, improbable gymnastics, environment tactics, and possibly even a small makeshift engineering trap with pulleys, a conveyor belt, and several cans of beans are involved.

Maybe. It sounds like the one you want to write the most, and the one that stretches cannon nearly like a cartoon show--still possible if wacky. Might work if the Feds are never even involved.

Quote:

C) Actually goes with Jayne to the meet spot, and when the middlemen inevitably turn on Jayne, she saves his lousy duplicitious hide.

This sounds the most serious, and could work as an exercise in philosophy. But you would have to come up with a good reason for River to save his Judas hide. To ensure it never happens again? (ha, ha) After a while it becomes not just cat and mouse but Tom and Jerry.

Quote:

D) Actually goes with Jayne to the meet spot, the middlemen turn on them, and while beating the living daylights out of the middlemen, she "accidentally" hits Jayne a couple times.

What happens after she beats the living daylights out of the middlemen? Who are the middlemen likely to be? Because if you’re setting this post-Serenity (which it has to be, given the fact that she’s consciously beating the living daylights out of them), then they’re not exactly unknown, having in effect, boosted the signal like a teenage prank…the corollary part to that is rather disturbing…

Also, Serenity (and I’m assuming post would also) has a rather darker feel than firefly—and you would need to make it fit in the larger arc now.

I don’t mean to shoot you down. But there is only so far fondness for feuds and characters can go. The scale is wrong(unless you are very, very careful).

But mostly, to try ANY of these, he’d have to be out of his mind. They’re ALL fugitives now.

That's my two coin.

---
Going for a ride.
Dear Buddha, please bring me a pony and a plastic rocket.

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Friday, July 2, 2010 10:24 PM

ANOTHERSKY

One more bit:

IF you wanted to write this as a desperate last-ditch catalyst-to-an-apocalypse breaking-of-the-Fellowship sort of way, then I'd say go ahead. It seems possible to me to gloss it enough to make that work.

But that don't sound at all like color of the horse you wanted.

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Saturday, July 3, 2010 4:49 AM

BYTEMITE

AR: It's just a hypothetical. If you wanted to make it "what would River do if this was still Ariel, only Jayne was smarter this time," that's fine too.

I figured some people would disagree with the premise... Though I figured it would be Rayne fans.

I don't think this is a matter of Jayne being dumb, I think it's a matter of being cowardly and not wanting to face Mal that way. To not look what he's doing in the eye as he betrays the crew and leaves.

Though granted he probably wouldn't do Simon and River again. It was the only way I could present the hypothetical.

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Saturday, July 3, 2010 4:58 AM

BYTEMITE

Oh, I'm not writing a fic. Someone just asked me to do a River version of my "how bad is Mal" scenario.

B has description pron just because I got carried away.

You think they're going to be fugies after the movie?

I like that premise and I've actually tried to play with that a little during when I was writing my first version of Eidolon.

Unfortunately, that tears up the crew right there. I've thought this over, a lot. While being fugitives would be the most likely outcome, if they're all fugitives and they stay together, none of them can get jobs. It would take a better writer than me to make this work.

I've had to do a fix-it where the Operative deletes the warrants he issued for them from the system, as a courtesy to all of them. Well, except Simon and River, because the Operative says there's still some interest in them, but just not from Parliament (Blue Sun's still after them, so fugie status stays).

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Saturday, July 3, 2010 1:56 PM

FREMDFIRMA

E - Pulls that same trick she did on Badger, then convinces the middlemen she's a deep cover agent and bagging her would buy them naught but trouble, but turning in Jayne would net them a smallish bit of coin and potential gratitude.

End result, Jayne semiconscious in a cargo crate being rolled away, not real happy about it.

Cut to Serenity, and River telling Mal that Jayne won't be making liftoff.

Mal: "Got stupid again, did he ?"
River: "Maybe."
Mal: "He dead ?"
River: "Maybe."
Mal: "I'm not gonna get a straight answer ever, am I ?"
River: "Maybe."
Mal: "Wash! get us off this rock, now, before anyone comes looking for us..."

And perchance the need for a new goon/tracker.

-F

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Saturday, July 3, 2010 2:27 PM

BYTEMITE

I'll add that option. :)

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Saturday, July 3, 2010 2:48 PM

MINCINGBEAST

The hypo is interesting because it's hard to get a fix on River's moral capacity. She's crazy, and abused, and her competence is in issue. Can she understand the nature and quality of her acts? The dream sequence with the stick/gun, and the awesome commercial trigger suggest there are situations where she can't. She's clearly fluent in violence. Also, I'd rather not believe that post-Miranda she's sane and happy. Remember, people don't get better, or change for the better. They just die. River is compelling inasmuch as she is a ruined creature, struggling with her limitations.

Let's be wary of adding options. Sooner or later someone will suggest F, which is "Jayne looks into River's eyes, and suddenly, they're like, totally in love and making out and stuff."Option B remains clearly superior. That Jayne would try to out-wit and betray a psychic assassin genius is absurd (and not out of character). Hence, it must end with absurdity, and lots of slapstick comedy and Jayne making anguished facial expressions.

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