meridian_rose

For a

scifiland challenge:
4 icons, 1 wallpaper, 2 mini meta, 1 drabble and 1 mini picspam

Your favourite character – icon
Bff-ness - icon
A ship - icon
Someone you hated but now loved - meta
Your choice – icon (quote)
A minor character - drabble
Social networking - meta
Colours - wallpaper
Something old – mini picspam

Drabble – minor character
Ho-Yo-Saf-Bridge

"Honey," the man said, putting one arm around her waist as she stood in front of the largest picture in the gallery. It wasn't just an endearment. Honey Goshawk was her latest identity.
"Colin," she purred, her upper class but colony specific accent (his mother's accent, she'd done her research) still a little odd on her tongue. "This painting, here, I do declare I am in love with it."
"Then you shall have it," Colin promised, leaning over and kissing her hair – black tresses that he was unaware was a very good wig.
Saffron smiled and leaned into his chest. "You are too good to me."
Then she froze – Reynolds! No, she thought as the man turned. Same height and build, similar hair colour but not Reynolds. She calmed herself, still feeling her heart racing. Colin had caught her momentary panic.
"Honey?" he asked, concerned.
She fanned herself exaggeratedly. "I'm fine, my darling. Just – thought I saw someone I knew."
He nodded. "Let me get you a drink," he offered.
What would Reynolds call her if he saw her? Yo-Saf-Bridge-y? Ho-Yo-Saf-Bridge? More importantly, why couldn't she get him out of her mind? Why did she see him lurking in shadows, and in her dreams? No mark had ever gotten to her the way he had.
Saffron accepted the proffered champagne and downed it in one go, despite Colin's look of surprise and mild disapproval.
If she ever saw Malcolm Reynolds again she'd shoot him. He'd ruined her already damaged life.

Meta – character you hated but now love
Malcolm Reynolds

So I hated Mal when I first watched "Firefly". Or maybe hate is a bit strong. Or maybe not, given the love/hate polarity and the way I feel about Mal now (he and River are my favourite characters).

Mal, to be fair, is somewhat different in the pilot episode(s). A bit harsher, more distant, more arrogant. The bit that made me really think he was, putting it mildly, a bit of dick? When he told Simon that Kaylee was dead because he thought it was funny. He'd just told Simon there'd be hell to pay if Kaylee died and then tells him that for a joke. Yeah. Bad Mal, and not just bad, in the Latin.

"Shindig" changed that. Shindig was the episode where we see Mal care about others, where he's humorous, where he becomes someone I actually liked. Oddly enough he became more attractive to me at this point, in the physical sense. This is odd because I don't necessarily have to like a character to find them attractive (though it definitely helps) nor do I necessarily find all the characters I like attractive in a throw-them-on-the-bed-and-screw-their-brains-out way.

Mal is another type of my beloved anti-hero, such as one of my first loves, Han Solo. He's not necessarily a good man, as Mal admits, but he often does the right things. Even when those things are largely deemed to be wrong but necessary. He'll make the jokes no-one else will, flirt with the princess, screw up, but never back down. Heroes can be role models but they're ultimately bland and imprisoned by their morals. It's anti-heroes like Mal who might claim it's all about the money – but it's not. They protect those they consider friends, whatever the cost.

Meta – Social Networking
The Cortex: Social Networking In The Future

In the future the main means of communication appears to be via the Cortex. This seems to be some sort of system encompassing the Internet, Twitter, telephone calls, text messaging and video conferencing. Inara uses the system to book appointments with clients, who leave longing video messages asking for her services. A Wave is any verbal, video, or text based message sent via the Cortex. Mr Universe no doubt monitors everything on the Cortex – and probably collects a lot of porn…

Much like the Internet of today a good deal of the Cortex does indeed seem to be for porn, as evidenced in the flashback scene during "Safe" when a young Simon is told his father disapproves of Simon having access to the Cortex via a dedicated Source box:

**********************************************************************************
Young Simon: Did you get my wave?
Gabriel: I got it. Your text shorted. I got the whole thing during a board meeting. Thank you.
Young Simon: If I had a dedicated source box, it wouldn't short out. I lost half my essay.
Gabriel: Yes, and you'd have access to any (in Chinese) heaven knows what (in English) that filtered in from the cortex. I absolutely forbid it!
http://www.tvtdb.com/firefly/transcripts/1x06.php
***********************************************************************************
And might also explain this video which claims "The Cortex is For Porn" using Avenue Q's "The Internet is For Porn" set to Firefly clips
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i6ohsOWDrQ

Long story short, technology moves on, but people don't. The social networks of the future will be used for research, social bonding, business, leisure and porn :)

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