“Write 250 words based on the next piece of dialogue you hear.”
I was engaging in my 4th of July tradition of binge watching Firefly when I remembered that I’m participating in this pesky writing challenge. If you don’t already watch the show, you should gorram start. Happy Independence Day!
Badger ~ “What were you in the war? In that big war you failed to win? You were a sergeant, yeah? Sergeant Malcolm Reynolds…balls and bayonets brigade. Big, tough, veteran. Now you got yourself a ship and you’re a captain. Only I think, you’re still a sergeant. See? Still a soldier. A man of honor in a den of thieves. Well, this is my gorram den, and I don’t like the way you look down on me. I’m above you, better than! Businessman, see? Roots in the community. You’re just a scavenger.”
Mal ~ “Well, maybe I’m not a fancy gentleman like you, with your…very fine hat. But I do business. We’re here for business.”
Ever noticed how when you have the upper hand with someone insecure, their default defense is to try to make you feel small? I’ve dealt with that a lot in the last year or so, or at least I’ve become more aware of it. The difference between being a good guy and being a bad guy isn’t just what you do, it’s who you are. Mal doesn’t see himself as a good guy. He doesn’t think much about it. He just does the right thing, even when that right thing happens to be scavenging Alliance supplies and selling them on a border moon, where he’s pretty sure he’s going to get shot. Again.
If you watch Doctor Who (I assume you’re a civilized person), you’ll remember The Doctor killing the Sycorax for going back on a bargain. “No second chances. I’m that sort of a man.” That scene, that line, and the subsequent swishy brown coat, were based on David Tennant’s love for Captain Reynolds.
Whenever I played D&D, my character was always chaotic good. Any alignment personality test I’ve ever taken says that is just who I am. It’s the part of my character that says it doesn’t matter if I’m on the losing side, as long as I’m on the right one. I am the captain of my ship. And I’ll do what I think is right, even if I lose. I’ll tilt at windmills with the best of them. Just do what’s right. See, easy as lyin’.
Demons Run Press 
Published by