BLUE SUN ROOM FAN FICTION - GENERAL

JETFLAIR

Dream Sequence: Introduction
Thursday, February 16, 2006

A couple of days back I had a vivid dream about a new Firefly episode, and it stuck in my mind so strongly I had to turn it into a story. This is the dream it's based on.


CATEGORY: FICTION    TIMES READ: 3023    RATING: 9    SERIES: FIREFLY

For a while, I've been reading posts by people who've had dreams related to the 'verse, and been kinda bitter about the fact that I wasn't one of them. Well, I had my first Firefly dream, and it was really something. Essentially, I dreamed that I was watching a new episode of Firefly.

In the beginning, I was sitting in a huge, carpeted room with greenscreens for walls with a handful of other fans. We were there waiting for a screening of a new episode. My dream got a bit fuzzy after that; I wound up in some sort of a theater watching. I can't remember much about the vast majority of the episode; I have the vague impression that they were doing a heist of some sort, and part of the crew was captured.

The last scenes, though, were some of the most incredibly vivid bits of dreaming I've ever experienced.

The part I remember clearly begins with Kaylee alone, flying Serenity. She looks like an inexperienced driver, white-knuckled and nervous. But she's clearly got a mission, and she's determined. She's flying low, in atmo over a huge city. It's dark out, and looking out from the bridge you can see the city lights laid out in a brightly moonlit night. The whole scene is beautiful and has almost a fantasy look to it.

The next scene shows Zoe and River, heavily armed and moving up the stairs of a vast building that feels like a sports stadium. They are in shadow and moving quietly; they are preparing for an assault, but they don't want their presence known yet.

The camera fades out and shows a troubled Simon, carrying a bomb. He's alone and looks uneasy but sure of his actions. He's in the same building, moving between shadows in a vast concrete backstage area. It's not shown, but you know he's part of the plan and that he's going to have to set off the bomb in order to help rescue the others.

Then the camera starts moving slowly as a contemporary song begins. You can't make out the lyrics. It's a woman's voice, and the music is peaceful and sad, but somehow uplifting and comforting and the same time. The sequence that follows is one of the most beautifully filmed and emotionally affecting things I've ever seen.

The shot starts out wide as the music plays, showing a vast coliseum; it is modeled off of the Roman coliseum, but it's all indoors, built with modern architecture. The floor is carpeted, maroon with gold patterns and there is a vast audience you don't see clearly. At the center of the shot, not clearly visible, are several members of the crew, and you realize they are being tortured.

Without breaking the slow motion of the camera, the scene shifts to a series of close-up shots. All of the angles are unconventional and don't show clearly what is happening; they are impressions of each person rather than "documentary" shots. The camera work is amazingly beautiful.

First, the camera pans slowly up to the head and chest of a man you recognize as Wash. As the view sharpens, you see that he's unconscious, his head limp. But the expression on his face is hard to describe; it's almost contented. It seems clear that the intention of the image is to reassure; Wash is okay, it's sad, but don't worry about him, he'll come through this just fine.

The camera moves to an odd shot of a man's knees, and then moves up to show a partial outline of his chest and face. You can't see any truly identifiable features, but you know its Jayne.

Then the camera moves to the clearest image we've seen so far. It's an almost-close-up on Mal's face. He's prone on some sort of table we don't see in the frame. The expression on his face is sad and hurt and brave. We see written on his face that he's in pain and deeply worried about his crew, but there's no fear in his eyes, just determination and weariness. We see just the edge of a silk robe as an elegantly dressed arm moves into the shot, and Mal's eyes widen. We don't see the face, but we know instantly that it's Inara. The music continues to play as she moves past, inconspicuously slipping a white pill into Mal's mouth. Again unexplained, but we know it's a painkiller. As she moves away, so does the camera, moving off into a dark blur.

The scene is over, but as it and the music fade, we very briefly see images of Zoe and River and Simon moving to the rescue fade in faintly before the screen goes to black. The Firefly credits begin to roll, but instead of the theme song, the music ends and the credits roll to a silent theater. I've had tears in my eyes during the whole song, but I start crying and I know I have to see it again.

That's when I woke up in real life, with genuine tears in my eyes. The dream was so intensely moving that it made me cry for real, and that's what woke me up.

Darn thing has been on my mind all day.

COMMENTS

Thursday, February 16, 2006 4:29 AM

MAL4PREZ


woo-hoo! Mal on painkillers, I'm in!

Not to make light of it, I've had a few FF dreams but nothing this good! Can't wait to read about it!

m4p

Thursday, February 16, 2006 7:01 AM

COPILOT


I want firefly dream now! You are very lucky.

Thursday, February 16, 2006 7:27 AM

AMDOBELL


So glad to hear that Inara gave Mal a painkiller not a poison pill. Makes me wonder just what the good gorram she was doing there amid all that wicked torture. Love the notion of Simon with the bomb and River and Zoe getting ready to spring the rest of our heroes from the trap. Ali D :~)
You can't take the sky from me

Saturday, February 18, 2006 8:56 PM

WILLIAMJAMESW


Don't dreams always end right when things start to get to the good bits. Then you can never quite get them back the same way later.
Havent had the good fortune to have had a Firefly or Serenity dream yet; but maybe your description will help to inspire some for the rest of us.

Sunday, March 5, 2006 4:46 AM

BELLONA


had a firefly dream once, but it was all jumbly and there were only three or four characters there. yours is way better, i would love to see this as an actual episode.

b

Sunday, February 4, 2007 6:49 AM

GIRLFAN


Wow, I want to cry just from the beauty of how you described it. I've had at least one Firefly dream - also featuring torture (Simon), but other than the whole thing being a bit Bauhuas, I don't remember a damn thing.

Can't wait to read the whole story!


POST YOUR COMMENTS

You must log in to post comments.

YOUR OPTIONS

OTHER FANFICS BY AUTHOR

The Losing Side, Chapter 68 - Farewell to Bars
Mal is finally released by the Alliance, and says his goodbyes to friend and foe before being assigned a job in stapler quality control. In the meantime, Wash rebels against the perfection of his new job by buying dinosaurs and loud shirts. This is NOT the end of the story! :)

The Losing Side, Ch. 67 - Bombshells
Everything changes in the space of minutes when Mal is taken to Lee's office and confronted with two very different shocks to the emotions.

The Losing Side, Ch. 66 - Nature of the Beast
A long chapter full of conflict, trust, and musings....and a cliffhanger! An evil, evil cliffhanger.

The Losing Side, Ch. 65 - Trouble in Paradise
Wash wants to strangle the captain of the shiny new luxury cruiser he's flying, and Mal learns that something dangerous may be afoot....with his name on it.

The Losing Side, Ch. 64 - How to Win a Losing Battle
It's a tricky tightrope between trauma, rage, and finding yourself....but Mal is learning to walk it.

The Losing Side, Ch. 63 - The Art of Insanity
Mal may have more then he bargained for in Cody Patton, the mysterious and potentially deranged artist in his housing unit. Is the one real war criminal among them a threat, an asset, or just a damaged young soldier?

The Losing Side, Ch. 62 - Aiding the Enemy
Mal saves the life of an Alliance guard, and starts having serious doubts about his own mental state.

The Losing Side, Chapter 61 - Juggling Frustrations
Mal keeps on finding new and disturbing facts about one of his fellow prisoners, and Wash learns to juggle (and smuggle) goslings.

The Losing Side, Chapter 60
Wash gets a job, and Mal perfects his Alliance-taunting skills while developing an unlikely fondness for getting shots. Oh, and there's an artist who's a mite off.

The Losing Side, chapter 59 - Sharing the Night
Mal, Wash, and Zoe spend a sleepless night together, and Wash experiences some of the first joys of freedom.