#ZOE GO TO YOUR SISTER GODDAMNIT

[na-klar]

Nora: (picture / the note says "Enjoy the meal! Kisses, Mama")

There's still some left 😘

Zoe: (picture)

We already ate

[cordonian-literature]

Forever Mine

chapter four

❦ summary — The time for Princess Riley to step into her role as queen fast approaches and finding the future king is Cordonia’s top priority. Commander Liam is aware of that, and has plans to make sure the princess ends up with someone suitable.

➺ chapter warnings: none

❦ catch up here!

➺ word count: (+/-) 1980

*all characters belong to Pixelberry, except those unique to my story*

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When Leo had left Cordonia, he tried to leave all traces of his royal life behind as well. He bought a new wardrobe, everything from socks to sunglasses, leaving all of his suits in his chambers. Leo had bought a new phone and the only contacts were Riley, Bastien, Liam, and Drake. His father called him often, but he never saved the number.

And during the time he was gone, he avoided Cordonian news, too, wanting to remove himself and his mind from the nonsense that his father caused in European politics, or the lies that reporters felt they were free to tell.

So when he sees pictures of Riley and the King at the Regatta — Constantine smiling through a frown because of the sun while Riley’s grin made the photo seem brighter — he clicks on the article to read it, proud of his little sister and how she was handling the situation she was pushed into.

But Leo’s blood boiled the further he read. He wondered how these reporters had dared to write something like that about the princess when she had done nothing wrong. There were two paragraphs dedicated to praising Constantine for his declaration of war “for the protection of the Cordonian people, young and old, rich and poor”  but Leo remembered that even Commander Liam had said it wasn’t a good idea.

Leo stops reading halfway through, on the verge of throwing his phone against the wall. He sends the link of the article to Drake and receives a phone call less than five seconds later.

“Just got done reading the same article,” says Drake when Leo answers the call. His voice, usually unbothered and calm, was now hinted with irritation and anger, just as Leo felt.

“I can’t imagine the effect this has on her,” Leo responds, beginning to pace the room. “I mean, you were there during the Derby, right? I mean, I didn’t mention it to her but did you see how panicked she gets around reporters? Goddamnit…” he runs his hands through his hair then walks to the mirror to fix it. “I can’t be the only one who notices that she looks away every time cameras come near her. She’s done that since she was a kid but—”

Leo stops talking when he hears the click of the end of the phone call and turns to see Drake enter the room.

Both men sigh and fall into a pit of silent anger, neither saying a word of what they were feeling. Leo saw the heat behind Drake’s eyes, and almost laughed to himself when Drake’s jaw clenched.

More out of curiosity and wanting to see just how Drake felt about Riley — but also feeling the brotherly need to see how she was doing — Leo suggests going to check on her.

“Sounds like a good idea,” Drake says, quickly standing from his seat and going to the door.  

The men emerge from the room and walk down the hallway, taking a moment to adjust to the lack of light. When the walls are finally somewhat visible, Drake nudges Leo and jerks his chin forward: someone is walking ahead of them in the same direction.

A broad set of shoulders, tall build, blond hair, and military uniform: Leo instantly knows that it’s Liam. Drake looks at Leo for what they should do, but Leo simply shrugs, wanting to see where the man was going, hoping that he’d walk in another direction.

But three turns and a flight of stairs up later, they’re still walking in the same direction. The King’s Chambers were a long way off, causing Leo to wonder where Liam’s destination is. They’re currently in the hall where all the guests stay. A few more turns down would be Riley’s room, but before that is the library.

When Liam turns the corner and goes momentarily out of view, another set of footsteps can be heard from behind them. Drake gently pushes Leo towards the wall so that whoever it was couldn’t see them.

The person stops right next to them, and Drake nudges Leo to get behind a statue of his great-grandfather. Neither of them can tell who the person is, but both men’s hearts pound when the person knocks on the door.

“Who is bothering me this late at night?” an arrogant voice vibrates through the closed door, and Leo recognizes it as Neville’s.

He opens the door and light pools into the hallway, almost giving away Leo and Drake’s hiding spot, but they shift so that they are still in the shadows.

“Who are you?” Neville’s tone has an edge to it.

“Zoe Zacharias, at your service,” says a feminine voice. The name sounds familiar, but Leo isn’t sure he knows them. “I have been given a letter to delie—”

The sound of paper being snatched echos off the statue. “Who is it from?” Neville interrogates.

“That is not something I am allowed to disclose.”

Leo and Drake glance at each other, features not visible but their eyes are alight with confusion and curiosity.

Neville rips open the letter and unfolds it, holding it out in front of him to read. “Let’s see… hm… your participation in the Season is inappropriate, ha!” Neville raises his voice and laughs. “What nonsense is this?” He continues to read: “Years ago… partnership with Mister Golzine… association with his club and company… has been…” his voice lowers to below a whisper, and Leo can see Neville’s eyes widen with panic, “connected to… disappearance of twenty ad—”

Before finishing the sentence, Neville rips the paper and throws the remains at Zoe Zacharias’ face.

“You can rip the letter,” she says, shoving pieces of paper off her shoulder, “but you can’t get rid of the evidence. We’ve found videos and bank statements that all connect back to you. If this were to be leaked to the public, or to His Majesty, you would be—”

“Shut your mouth!” Neville gasps in an intense whisper. “Don’t! I don’t want to hear it! I’ve… I… It can’t be traced back to me! All I did was… I didn’t play a part in anything! This has nothing to do with the Social Season!”

“But it does,” the woman interjects, her face and posture still calm and collected; she had the high ground now, and Leo wanted to laugh at how the arrogance had melted off of Neville’s face, but he was too afraid to breathe. “If you need more proof, I can show it to you tomorrow along with His Majesty. The King would never allow such a scandal to disgrace the royal family or Cordonia.”

Through the light that the room provides, Leo can see that Neville has started sweating.

“All right!” Neville gasps. “What do you want? What do I have to give you to make you and your partners keep your mouths shut?”

Without hesitance, she states, “Your resignation as a suitor.”

Leo and Drake’s eyes go wide.

Neville takes deep breaths, visibly weighing the possibilities. Leo had hoped he would read the whole letter aloud. What exactly had Neville gotten caught up in? He didn’t want to know the details, but Leo imagined that there must have been something in the letter that could have unveiled the writer.

“Fine,” Neville finally utters. “I will leave in the morning.”

“That is wonderful to hear,” Zoe says. “No Cordonian shall hear of this, and we will make this information disappear.”

“Thank… you,” Neville breathes, the anguish and confusion still glossing his eyes. “Now if you’ll excuse me…”

“I understand, you probably have much to do before morning,” Zoe nods her head and smiles.

“Yes,” Neville stutters and closes the door, throwing the halls of the palace back into a pit of darkness.

Zoe’s footsteps can be heard retreating in the direction they all came from. Once she’s out of hearing range, Drake and Leo continue walking towards Riley’s room, the unease heavy between them.

They reach her room and knock on the door, but there’s no answer from the other side, and it seems like the lights are off, too. Drake checks the time to see that it’s a few minutes after midnight.

Not wanting to stand in the hallway for too long, Leo says, “We can check on her before breakfast, let’s go back.”

On their walk, they remain silent, eyes and ears alert in the case that there was someone else awake. When they’re back in Leo’s room and the doors are shut, their shoulders relax and they let out a sigh.

“Do you know who Zoe Zacharias is?” Leo asks.

“I think she’s a part of the King’s Guard,” Drake answers. “I haven’t seen or heard of her in a while though, I’m not sure.”

“She’s worked with Bastien?”

Drake shrugs, “I was introduced to her a few months back, and that’s what she said she was.”

Leo nods, beginning to pace again. She said she was a part of the King’s Guard, but had never worked with Bastien? There was no doubt she worked with the government, seeing that she had so much information on Neville.

“The only person who would have had the power or influence to do this is someone close to the king,” Leo states, unsure.

“It doesn’t make much sense. How do you know?” Drake asks.

Leo takes a moment to think, not having a solid answer to Drake’s question.

“Clearly,” Drake continues, “whoever sent that letter probably wanted to get rid of some competition.”

“Who would have wanted to do that?” Leo asks, feeling the pieces come together.

“It could have been Constantine,” Drake says. Leo’s father was easy to blame; the man wasn’t always diplomatic, and there was a high chance that such a corrupt man would try to shift the results of the season.

“Or,” Leo suggests, “it could have been Alexander.” Drake nods in agreement. “I imagine he has enough influence to get that information, and using it to get closer to Riley makes sense, too.”

“You’re right,” Drake says, even though neither man was confident.

The room falls into silence again, Leo and Drake’s minds racing for a better explanation with the lack of knowledge. If someone had wanted to get rid of Neville, why do it privately? Why not go to the King and have Constantine release this information?  

“It’s late,” Drake says, patting Leo’s shoulder and pulling him away from his train of thought. “Get some sleep. We’ll have to keep an eye on Prince Alexander and Constantine. Maybe talk to Olivia and get her to help out.”

“Olivia?” Leo looks up at his friend and smirks. “Why Olivia?”

Drake frowns. “Why are you looking at me like that? I just mean that she’s good at this stuff.”

“Yeah, but there’s a whole bunch of other people we could ask.”

Drake rolls his eyes.

“We could ask Liam,” Leo begins to list jokingly. “Bastien, or even Miss Zoe Zacharias. Better yet, we could even catch Neville before he leaves in the morning and make him tell us everything.”

“I don’t want to ask Liam,” Drake says quickly, causing Leo’s eyebrows to jump up.

“Woah, man, I just suggested it, no need to get defensive.”

Drake sighs, and Leo throws his arm around Drake.

“Do you have something against Liam or is it…” he gives Drake a knowing look.

“No,” he says curtly.

Leo holds up his hands and walks back to his bed. “I was just asking,” he says, trying his best not to laugh.

Drake turns and opens the door, “I’ll see you in the morning, we can tell Riley what happened.”

“Sure,” Leo says as the door closes, though he makes a mental note to remember not to tell her. There was no reason to stress her out more. The less she knew about someone manipulating her decision, the better.

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a/n: sorry for not posting. lol i know i say this every time but life really do be getting in the way 😫i’m counting down the seconds until school ends so i can finally have some free time. anyway i know this is short but i hope yall enjoyed it!!

@twinkleallnight @gkittylove99 @sweatyrysconnoisseur @kingliam2019  @queenrileyrose @royalromancer @princess-geek @mom2000aggie @parkdoesthings @claireloutoo

[chaoticlesbiab]

Oooh Request for Cordelia X Reader. Reader is new to the academy and feels like a freak for struggling to integrate into the coven.

~ I’d like to point out the fact that I’ve made the reader younger in this. They’re still over 18, but I imagined them as being in their early twenties. Still of a students age, but legal. ~

WC: 2.2k

Warnings: Age-gap relationship, student/teacher dynamic

Pairings: Cordelia Goode x reader

A/N: It took a lot of motivation and a lot of editing, but I actually quite enjoyed this request!! Thank you for sending it in! Also, I had one of those moments while writing it of just being like wow... this is the most tender thing I’ve ever written. The entire fic isn’t like that, but there’s one line that stands out to me as such.

You sat on the porch of Miss Robichaux's Academy and stared up into the night sky, feeling defeated. You had been at the academy for nearly two months now, and you hadn't seen any improvement in your powers since your arrival. You had initially joined the coven because it called to you the moment you saw the pretty, welcoming supreme on your TV. You thought it was where you belonged, but now you were starting to second guess that. 

Upon arrival, your mentors greeted you with open arms, but things soon went downhill. You realized that while most of your classmates had three or four harnessed powers, the only thing you were good for was setting fires. Everyone began to look at you like you were weak. Wanting to prove them wrong, you threw yourself into your studies, not even attempting to make friends. That hurt your social status even worse. 

Tears pooled in your eyes, but you quickly wiped them away at the sound of the door opening. Turning, you saw your supreme walking towards you with a blanket in hand. You furrowed your eyebrows, "Miss Cordelia? What are you doing out here?"

She wrapped the blanket loosely around your shoulders, "I could see you sitting out here from my window. I came to check on you."

You watched as she sat down next to you, "Oh. Well, thank you."

She hummed in response. Her presence calmed you, but you could still cut the awkwardness with a knife. You cursed yourself for staring at her. It was so easy to observe the way the stars shone in her eyes and the moon gave a glow to her pale skin as if it only lit up the sky for her. You felt as if she stared into your very soul before tenderly asking, "What's on your mind, Y/N?"

If you were bold enough, you would have said she was. You instead shrugged, "Oh, it's nothing." You weren't bold, nor did you want to burden the supreme with your silly insecurities. 

"No, it's not." She shook her head, "You can talk to me, sweetheart. I'd like to help."

You broke eye contact with her, looking at the sky again. You couldn't bear to look her in the eye while you confessed, "I don't belong here." You paused, "Those girls inside, even the younger ones, they're so much more talented than me. They're real witches of their craft; I'm just a one-trick pony. Not to mention that none of them like me." You blinked away a tear, "I've always felt like a freak, but I didn't think it would carry over with me."

It fell silent again, and your thoughts ran rampant. What if Cordelia thought you were pathetic? What if she asked you to leave the coven? If your peers didn't respect your magical ability, why would the most powerful witch in the world? Your heart beat rapidly in your chest as Cordelia finally spoke, "I understand the feeling. When I was younger, I thought I was a freak, too. I didn't have many friends, hell, my own mother didn't even want me. She just left me here." She took a breath in at the memory, "The only person I talked to for a long time was Myrtle, and even with her guidance I still didn't feel good enough. I suppressed my powers for years, not even realizing half of what I could do until I became the supreme."

You looked to her in disbelief, "I never would have guessed that."

She giggled at your demeanor, "Well, it's the truth. My point is, it took me a long time to feel comfortable within the coven. It's a different experience for everybody, and it's okay if it takes you longer than others." She reached for your hand, "I want to assure you that you are not a freak. You belong here, just like all of the girls in the house."

You nodded at her words, unable to stop the tears that clouded your vision. You weren't sure if Cordelia was right, but it still helped. 

She cooed, bringing you into a gentle hug. You melted into her touch as she soothingly rubbed up and down your back. She held you as if you were made of glass, but you wouldn't have it any other way. You sniffled, "You're too kind, Miss Cordelia."

"I've been told." She joked as she pulled away. She placed her hands on either of your shoulders, "Oh, and for the record. I like you." 

You were sure you were red as a tomato in that moment. You were truly at a loss for words, unable to comprehend that the woman you admired most in the world was offering you such kindness.

She chuckled at you for a moment before standing from her position beside you. She offered her hand out to you, "Come inside now. It's getting chilly out here."

Accepting her hand, she helped pull you to your feet. Not letting go, she led you into the house. You already knew that you would be a giddy mess for the entirety of the night. 

-

Five days had passed since your heart-to-heart with Cordelia on the porch, and while everything continued as normal, you couldn't help but notice her keeping a closer eye on you. She observed your class with Zoe, granting you a sly, encouraging smile when you tried to do something of magical ability. She offered you friendly tips while seeing you care for your withered plant in passing. Only small actions of caring, nothing more and nothing less. 

You were, as usual, attempting to study in the common room until you were called for dinner. You were staring insistently at a candle, trying to will it to move towards you. After moments of nothing, it made a slow movement. You shot up straight in your excitement, halting the action altogether. You cursed yourself, "Goddamnit, come on!"

Two of your classmates entered the room, laughing. One was a tall brunette. The other was a shorter girl with raven-colored hair. 

The brunette mumbled, "She's still at it for the hundredth time this week." She spoke up, "Jesus, Y/N, this is getting kind of pathetic. It's only telekinesis, even a child can move a candle." 

"Oh, shut up!" You barked out, "If you're so great you might as well just be the supreme."

The shorter girl rolled her eyes, "You can say whatever you want, but it doesn't change that fact that all of the women on these walls are laughing at you from the grave right now."

You were about to snap at her, but the sound of high heels clicking from behind stopped you. A stern voice sounded, "That's enough!" You turned to see Cordelia standing in the doorway, and her tone would suggest that she wasn't too happy. 

The two girls suddenly stood up straighter, "We were just messing around, Miss Cordelia."

She raised her hand to silence them, "No you weren't. What is the matter with you girls? You need to start treating each other like sisters because that's what you are. In this coven, we are a family, and I expect you to start acting like it! We need to stand united because if we are divided our enemies will always win." The girls stared at their feet as Cordelia continued, "Now go help set the table for dinner."

They mumbled their apologies, quickly exiting the room. You were suddenly hyper-aware of the fact that you were left alone with Cordelia. She walked towards you, "Are you alright, Y/N?"

"Yes, I'm fine. You didn't have to do that, Miss Cordelia." You blushed lightly. 

She smiled at how easily flustered you were around her. It gave her butterflies in her stomach. She stopped in front of you, "Yes I did. There's no room for that type of behavior here." 

You smiled back, standing before her awkwardly. You were always unsure of how to act around Cordelia, not wanting to do anything to skew her opinion of you. 

She furrowed her eyebrows as if in thought, "Why don't you stop by my office tonight after dinner? I think a private lesson would do you good." 

Your eyes lit up at the offer, "You would be willing to do that? I mean I don't want to waste your time or keep you from other things you have to do."

She lifted your chin, "There's a fire in you. I can see it deep down, begging to be released. I'd like to help you harness that fire."

You nodded your head at the offer, "Please. That would be amazing."

She pulled her hand away from your face, "Good." - You stayed behind after dinner to help clean the dishes. Usually, you would dread such a chore, but you were stalling. Of course, you were grateful that Cordelia offered to give you a private lesson, but you were so nervous around her. You weren't sure how you were going to do magic in a room alone with her. She was like a drug, hypnotizing you every time you met her deep brown eyes. They just pulled you in.

You sighed as you rinsed off the last dish. Knowing that it was time, you slowly made your way to Cordelia's office. You attempted to steady your shaky hands before landing two sharp knocks to the pearl-colored door. 

After hearing a muffled, "Come in." you obliged. Stepping into the office, you noticed Cordelia at her desk. Her hair was tucked loosely behind her ears as she concentrated on something. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she ever so slightly bit her bottom lip as she quickly wrote something onto a piece of paper. You stared at her as if she were the most ethereal being you'd ever seen. 

After a few moments, she acknowledged your presence. She stood, "Sorry about that. I'm glad you're here."

You giggled nervously, "I'm glad you're giving me this opportunity. It's an honor to have the chance to learn from the supreme." 

"Well, as the supreme it's my job to teach you girls." She stopped a few paces from you, "Why don't we start with your telekinesis? You're having trouble harnessing it, aren't you?" She waited for you to nod before continuing, "Why don't you show me? Try to bring that book on my desk over to yourself."

You swallowed hard, "Okay." You said half-heartedly before focussing on the book. You lifted your hand, trying to will it towards you. You were sure you would have a stroke with how hard you were focusing, but still, nothing happened.

Cordelia hummed, "I see."

You sighed, closing your eyes in embarrassment. That was one of your more pathetic attempts. Usually, you could make it do something. Cordelia walked behind you and neatly collected all of your hair to behind your back. She rubbed your shoulders, "I think the problem is that you're mentally blocking yourself." You could faintly feel her breath on the back of your neck, "You're too focussed on the fact that you couldn't move it in the past, so you're preventing yourself from doing it in the moment." She rolled out the tightness in your muscles with her thumbs. You relaxed into her touch, "Just clear your mind and try again. Think about the action as if you've already done it."

You opened your eyes and took a deep breath. Repeating her words in your mind, you raised your hand again. Nothing happened for a few seconds, but then you tried to visualize the book in your hand. You imagined how the smooth cover would feel in your hand. Slowly, the object was making its way into your palm. 

You barely even registered it before you gasped. You whipped around to face a proud Cordelia, "Did I do that?"

She chuckled, "I didn't so that only leaves one person."

You grinned cheek to cheek and pulled her into a tight hug, "Oh, Cordelia! I don't know how, but you just helped me make the biggest improvement I've had in months. Thank you so much!"

You could feel her laugh vibrating from her chest against your skin, "You're welcome, honey, but it was all you."

Overcome with joy over your little triumph, you pulled away and planted a firm kiss of Cordelia's lips. It only lasted a few seconds, but you sweetly connected your lips to the supreme's. 

It was now Cordelia's turn to blush. She was so shocked at the action that you couldn't even give you a proper kiss back. She didn't even close her eyes as your soft lips collided with hers. She had never expected you to act so unpredictably. Up until then, she had enjoyed watching you sheepishly swoon over you, but the roles were so suddenly reversed.

You hadn't even realized what you had done until you saw Cordelia's beet-red face. You gasped, "Oh, I'm so sorry!" You pulled away from her, "How inappropriate of me." You nearly started crying, under the impression that you had just made a horrible mistake. 

Cordelia collected herself. A little smirk made its way to her lips, "Don't apologize." She met your eyes, "Why don't we make these lessons a frequent occurrence? I think it would be beneficial to you, seeing how you've made such an improvement in such a short amount of time already. Why don't we meet here after dinner twice a week?"

You stared at her in surprise. Your embarrassment was soon gone and replaced with another cheeky smile, "I'd love to. Thank you, Miss Cordelia." She nodded, "Let's continue with our lesson."

[space-city-traffic]

more thoughts, now that it’s morning!!!

we all deserve ADHD Inara in our lives

one day Kaylee asks her, eyes shining, how she knows so much! it always seems like Inara can talk a little about everything, maybe because she’s so classy and deals with so many people, or maybe because of all that fancy schooling she’s had...

cut to Inara uncomfortably flashing back to a whole series of 4am space Wikipedia rabbit trails about the randomest things

she likes to have music going all the time and a lot of pretty baubles and good textures in her shuttle, partially because the aesthetic is important for what she does, but also because it’s just a very good sensory place for her and keeps her brain stimulated enough

fuck the edgy angsty Mal of the Serenity movie

yes I know they were playing with him-as-a-reaver symbolism and saying he was losing himself out in the black but like. no. Mal is good to his core and i will not stand for this slander.

Malcolm Reynolds has ocd now

the vibes are right i won’t elaborate

Wash and Zoe are wlw now

Wash can be a he/him lesbian or not, i don’t very much care, but these women are gay thank you. have you seen the hawaiian shirts? there’s nothing straight here. the other option is that they’re just bi4bi which is also a wonderful thing.

we’re absolutely keeping the strawberries and the plastic dinosaurs

and every other little reminder that humanity puts so much value on the littlest, silliest things, and that’s what makes our lives worth something in the cosmos

we’re also so keeping the general clutter and lived-in feel of Serenity

it’s such a homey spaceship!!!! in a way i don’t think i’ve seen in any other show!!!! and even in the movie Serenity, they messed it up, bc they made it cleaner and brighter and have bigger rooms... no!!! Serenity is your crappy rattly car, and it’s that awful dorm you stayed in with your best friends that one year, and it’s the first house you get right out of college with all of the thrill of freedom and independence and it being only yours and none of the air conditioning. that’s what it means, that’s what it represents. and it should have clutter goddamnit.

we’re keeping that episode where Simon gets kidnapped to be the doctor for a backwater town, and adding in much more religious imagery

listen, i know I’ve talked ad nauseam about Mal as a dust covered saint. but can we please have Simon and River, literally burned at the stake, as the martyr and the heretic?

Simon as a martyr—he gave up so much for his sister, because she’s the only thing he believes in, in defiance of the rest of the world. and River as a heretic—she works different, she is different, she doesn’t fit into the existing order of things and that is her strength, and she will make the world have room for her, damnit!!

and the fact that the martyr and the heretic, the faithful and the faithless, will never understand each other’s beliefs no matter how much they want to. but Simon will always believe in his sister, and River will always have a place for her brother in her world.

chronically ill Inara!!!!!!!

i saw someone point out once that there are a few details that suggest she might be canonically very sick, and that it’s a thread the show would’ve followed up on had it not been cancelled. and like. fuck yeah. please give me a chronically ill queen please give her to me.

wheelchair user Wash!!!!!!

because literally why not? nothing about the series changed if we give him a wheelchair. he flies the ship! he does that sitting down! there’s no reason to not have him in a wheelchair and so therefore I’m giving him one.

bonus points bc he’s one of the most romantic characters in the show, and i love to see disabled characters portrayed with a vibrant and exciting romantic relationship that doesn’t revolve around or have anything to do with their disability.

i want a scene where River helps Mal through a bad ptsd day okay

scenario: Zoe is off doing something else, and the wrong thing triggers Mal right before an important meeting with a potential smuggling client, and shitshitshit this can’t be happening now, Zoe usually helps because she went through the same stuff, but—

and then River is there, talking him through it in a low voice, giving him the weirdest prompts for grounding exercises that she clearly made up herself for her own amusement. and you know what, it is kinda amusing to find every typo you can see, isn’t it? and River just sits with him through it, and... and it gets better. because she never fought a war, but she’s been through plenty of trauma or her own. and from then on out, they help each other.

okay that’s it for round two but like. i have so many feelings about these characters and i hate that they’re in a show with so many flaws, so i want to make it GOOD, okay????

yet again im back on my bullshit so... (gazes with mixed feelings at the TV show Firefly) i could fix him.

my extremely long thoughts about my Own Personal Good Version of Firefly (with plenty of spoilers for the show and the movie) under the cut:

things that are getting axed first thing no question:

out with the whole “let’s add in a thin veneer of Chinese cultural aesthetics out of context for ~flavor~” deal. just no.

instead, let’s hire some actors from a bunch of different cultures and work with them to figure out how their characters would bring those cultures into space with them!! and also hopefully bring some experiences with immigration/alienation/travel into it, since the Whole Core of Firefly is about how humanity always brings our doomed and silly and stubborn and unique warmth with us even into the cold void where nothing is familiar or homey in the slightest.

let’s respect our sex worker character shall we?

i do appreciate that Inara’s work as a companion is described as legitimate and well respected in the show. however please stop having your captain and hero call her a wh*re every five seconds against her clearly expressed wishes and portraying this as just a totally acceptable thing

let’s be more respectful of our characters of color and also have some more diversity, shall we?

others have put it better than me but yeah, the way Zoe and Book are treated is very uncomfy, and the rest of the show is depressingly monochromatic. come on let’s do better.

stop the weird confederacy hat tips

again others have pointed these out with much more thoroughness than I could, but the names of some characters and locations, as well as some of the language used to describe the browncoats, has uncomfortably confederate vibes. instead i propose we very Clearly tip our hats to the Alliance equaling space capitalism instead! you can’t go wrong with space capitalism as a villain.

don’t! make! the! psychotic! character! violent!

listen i love River Tam with my whole heart. but you should absolutely not portray your only character with psychosis as violent because of that psychosis!!!!!!! and yeah, a huge part of her character is that her brain got fucked up by the alliance and so she hallucinates and is also a super ninja. but like. she doesn’t need to be a super ninja for her character to work, okay? the crew does not need to be scared of her for her character to work, okay??? more on this later bc it would take a lot of care and nuance to make her character work but i really think it can be done

things we are absolutely keeping:

found family tropes my fucking beloved

this should be self evident. this is why the show is as appealing as it is despite its flaws, at least in my eyes.

malcolm reynolds, the knight in dusty armor

there’s something so appealing to me about what Mal stands for. because at his core is this ridiculous, silly, stubborn, doomed devotion to what he thinks is important and right, a romantic idealism thinly covered by cynical cowboy platitudes that he thinks make his bleeding heart totally invisible. and he is so obvious and entirely incorrect. bless. this is a man who will do anything for his family, who charges into swordfights to defend his friend from a man who wants to turn her into an object despite having no clue how to hold a sword. at his worst, he starts brawls in bars just for the martyr’s thrill of being persecuted for supporting the right; at his best, he inspires downright religious belief from his crew because he represents a romantic and chivalrous and doomed dedication to the right thing over any practical concerns. and then he throws a “selfish” quip over it with 100% confidence that everyone fell for his clever distraction and believes him to be a dirtbag. he’s oblivious and ridiculous and god he makes me want to be a better person because he’s just so goddamned sincere. stupid, but sincere. 10/10 himbo. <3

Mal and Inara ultraslowburn friends to enemies to friends to lovers to enemies to friends to lovers to friends to...

there’s nothing i love more than a ship that’s just two people who know each other way too well, and they’re each the only one who knows the other well enough to call them out on their bullshit. the way Mal and Inara interact in the show sometimes makes me uncomfy but like. the core of their relationship has to stay.

space western aesthetic

i need the cows on a spaceship scene to stay like i need air okay

that sweet sweet religious shit

mal, who lost his faith in gd and a whole lot else during the war. who lost his faith in himself, and now feels he has to hide the part of him that still wants to be good, because he knows he can’t be anymore, and he feels like it’s embarrassing for a guy like him to want something so unattainable. who takes a preacher on board, and the preacher has lost something, too. the preacher has his own past, and his own questions. but not questions like the observant neurodivergent girl, the one who wants to interact with and understand this thing that’s so important to him, but it just doesn’t click with how her brain works and she feels like something needs to be fixed, either the Bible or herself. and Mal takes care of them all, and slowly, he begins to find gd again, not in a prayer but in humanity. humanity doesn’t need to be fixed, like the alliance thinks. the shining imperfect strawberry sweetness of it in his family’s smiles is something to be worshiped and served and devoted to. and he finds he has something to believe in again. (and his crew find that he’s given them someone to believe in, too. and maybe suddenly he’s a saint.)

and finally, my brilliant ideas as to what i would like to add:

TRANS WOMAN KAYLEE RIGHTS

listen her femininity is so important to me okay? it’s so thrilled about everything that’s pretty, from dresses to the spaceship’s electric innards, and it’s so non-traditional and grease stained until it’s not and it’s pink and ruffly and twirly, and she never sees any of it as a contradiction, because none of it contradicts, it’s all just her! her gender is warmth and love and prettiness, feeling pretty and appreciating the pretty and making her friends’ days pretty too.

i want us to find out she’s trans in that episode with the ball, and i want us to find out alongside Mal who just never asked or never realized. Kaylee gasps and squeals at the dress in the shop window and Mal makes an off handed, ill considered comment, and then... someone yanks him aside and hisses a few very significant words in his ear. and suddenly he remembers what the blue white and pink she painted all over the engine room means, and he knows he has something to make right. so he buys her that dress himself and lets her know just how pretty she looks, and when he walks into that ball with her displayed on his arm like something precious, he looks the proudest out of any man there. and she notices. for a few seconds, of course, until there’s chocolate, and ‘nara, and a chandelier—and some horrible girls, but she’s used to that, until—suddenly, she finds her people. a group of old men who light up when she jokes about compression coils and whack presumptuous boys who ask her to dance. they adopt her as a treasured granddaughter, and Mal is beaming at her like a proud dad, and she finds that one of her new elderly friends gazes a little too long at her bracelet, and so she gives it to xem and teaches xem a few new words, and... it’s a good day, huh? it’s a really good day. (of course, then the captain has to go and punch somebody in the face, but it was a real nice party up until then.)

also she and Simon are both transhet t4t im correct and you know it

time for a better River Tam

the first thing we’ve established is that this version of her is not unpredictably violent and the crew is not scared of her!!!! it makes no sense to take a kid who’s primarily brilliant, experiment on her brain, give her telepathic powers....... and tack on the fact that she also has super strength and speed and dexterity and what not, AND say that they programmed her to be super violent. no! no. not only is that extremely harmful rep, that’s also just stupid.

instead!! my version of River is in fact not terrifying to the crew, but is actually the one they feel safest around. River has always been totally blunt, she was one of those kids you could tell realllllly early was autistic, and she doesn’t like being disengenous at all. so you can always trust her to tell the truth and not play weird passive aggressive games or have any hidden agenda, which makes her just a really chill person to be around. also, one of her longtime special interests is music and dance, so whether or not she’s nonverbal on a given day, there will always be some sort of beautiful sound when she’s around. she does have the singing voice of a dying crow unfortunately but that’s ok bc Simon’s is even worse and they’re both incredibly competitive so you’ll at least get free entertainment out of the affair.

my version of River does have psychosis and hallucinations because of the trauma of the experiments, and they are really troubling to her. she and Simon work together to find ways to cope and meds that help, and it’s a process, but there are some things that help.

the only thing she gained from the academy was the ability to hear people’s thoughts and sense the future a little bit. and yeah, that led to her picking up a few spooky secrets at the beginning, which, yikes. and for a while, it was hard to figure out which voices were real and which were hallucinations. but around her friends, she always feels safe to ask “did you just think about triple cheese burritos or was that just a me thing?”, and they’ll always tell her the truth no matter how embarrassing their thoughts are, bc it’s important to all of them to respect her and help her sort accurately through what’s reality and what’s not. and bit by bit, she gets better and better at figuring out what kinds of things tend to be telepathy and what kinds of things tend to be psychosis, and that each one feels a little different. and because of the trust and respect and support of her found family she’s able to do that in a safe environment!!!

trans man Simon rights

listen i wanted to keep him as just a side note on Kaylee’s list but he is my son and he’s important to my heart so here goes

out on the outer rim where Kaylee’s from, gender ain’t much of a big deal, there’s an individualistic quality to life out there, and so if the trail you blaze is the trail of a woman or a man or neither or both, that’s respected even in the rare cases where it’s not outright encouraged. but in the inner planets, where competition and connections and public faces and family names are everything, you have to be what’s expected of you to survive. you can’t change your brand, you can’t be anything other than what your family planned for you since before you were born, it’s incredibly hard to survive in such a hyper competitive environment, and so your very identity becomes just a tool in how to market yourself for better success.

needless to say Simon (just as autistic as his little sister and also very trans) fuckin hated it there. but he was very good at it. correction: he was very good at his very specific field of STEM, good enough to where people stopped talking about how cute he looked in bows and started talking about how impressive his work was from a very young age. and his work had no gender. he could be whatever he wanted to in equations. so that was where he could express himself, and gd, he got so much praise for it, he never wanted to stop.

not until he discovered that his sister needed him, and ran away, and needed a disguise, and realized... suddenly, every stifling rule and prying eye was a million miles away. he was freefloating, freefalling, with none of the charted paths he’d been following all his life... so you know what? fuck it. he’s always enjoyed the name Simon. and since it’s not on any legal records, it’ll make him just that much more untraceable.

and on Serenity, starting over with new people who never knew him before his transition feels like an unbelievable blessing that just dropped right into his lap. he has to keep up the secrecy, he has to make sure they never find out who he used to be, because gd, it’s so nice when they look at him and say his name right, and he doesn’t know if he can handle losing that, not when it’s so new and so important to the person he’s finally becoming. but then one day, the unthinkable happens, the wanted posters for his arrest have an old name on them, they’re looking for the Tam sisters, and... nothing changes. the crew of Serenity could not give even a tenth of a percent of a fuck, and it doesn’t seem like they even know they’re supposed to. huh. that’s new. Simon could get used to that, he thinks.

i’m sure there’s more i could add, but it’s 4:30 in the morning now, so if more occurs to me, ill simply add it in a reblog tomorrow. if you’ve read down this far, i am in love with you. please let me know your Better Firefly ideas, too, bc im always down to yell about this show!!!