Favorite non-canon ship?
POSTED BY: Romanceguru
UPDATED: Friday, March 11, 2011 06:51
VIEWED: 15197
PAGE 3 of 6
Quote:
Originally posted by AgentRouka:
Biological incest (while most definitely not a kink of mine!) freaks me out less than the status/age/experience differences I see with Mal/Kaylee and Mal/River.
If you will, Mal/Kaylee and Mal/River reminds me of daddy/daughter incest, which is far more icky than brother/sister incest because the latter involves two people of more of less equal status.
That's an... interesting take, I have to say. Makes a certain creepy sense.
In terms of an age difference, though, Mal is a bit older than Inara. Maybe not more "experienced" per se, but he looks older and acts older and just is older. Part of this is the fact that Morena is pretty young, of course; certainly younger than Nathan.
Honestly, Mal/Inara leaves me really cold. It just isn't interesting; I can't care. I can't put my finger on exactly why, even.
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Quote:
Originally posted by PhoenixRose:
That's an... interesting take, I have to say. Makes a certain creepy sense.
In terms of an age difference, though, Mal is a bit older than Inara. Maybe not more "experienced" per se, but he looks older and acts older and just is older. Part of this is the fact that Morena is pretty young, of course; certainly younger than Nathan.
Morena's age is not necessarily Inara's, of course. And something along the lines of 4, maybe 5 years isn't quite the 10 and 15 that he has on Kaylee and River, respectively.
Inara is fairly equal to Mal, both in terms of "age category" and maturity and experience (not just sexual, I mean), which is one of the reasons I enjoy the pairing.
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Honestly, Mal/Inara leaves me really cold. It just isn't interesting; I can't care. I can't put my finger on exactly why, even.
Which is why it's good that there's something out there for every kind of taste. *g*
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Quote:
Originally posted by SpaceAnJL:
Mal likes graceful dancer-types.
He does? :)
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Inara is designed that way. Every man is supposed to go *drool*. She's far more interesting when she's not 'working'.
I can see Mal looking on Kaylee as a younger sister - he calls her mei-mei - and she clearly has a non-romantic but loving relationship with him.
The Simon/River thing could work if you went at it like 'Les Enfants Terribles', which I think was Cocteau. Deeply creepy tale of sibling obsession. Still 
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Well, even 10 or 15 year age difference isn't that bad. You can barely be a parent at age 15, and then only if you're a bit of a dumbass.
When does Mal call Kaylee mei-mei?
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Er....
I can see the scene, but can't remember which episode it was. I will look it up...I think it's in the pilot episode.
The age thing isn't an issue for me - I'm a GSR fan elsewhere. And I think I recommended the Laurie King books - that central relationship has something like a 40 year gap, but it works, because there's an equality of minds. That's the key for River, I think.
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Quote:
Originally posted by PhoenixRose:
Well, even 10 or 15 year age difference isn't that bad. You can barely be a parent at age 15, and then only if you're a bit of a dumbass.
Still, the younger in age both people are, the more significant are those 10, 15 years. Especially the 15. River is 16 when she comes aboard and 17 in the movie. Genius or not, compared to Mal's 32, that's quite a world of difference, especially considering Mal's paternal, mature personality. He's not exactly a boyish man, most of the time.
Similarly with Kaylee, who's sexually mature, but very childlike and young at heart.
I'm not saying everyone has to see it that way. Just that it's a big sticking point for me, that prevents me from viewing their relationships in a shippy light. :)
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When does Mal call Kaylee mei-mei?
In the pilot episode, during their talk in the infirmary.
"Don't go working too hard on that crush, xiao mei-mei. Doc won't be with us for long."
Hope that helps!
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I can remember Inara calling Kaylee mei-mei when she says "Mei-mei you have to focus" after Kaylee gets shot, but I cannot think of any place where anyone else calls her mei-mei. I can't think of any other place anyone but Simon uses the term, in fact.
*edit* OK, nevermind. I'll have to check that scene again.
I'm actually not a big Mal/Kaylee shipper, but I'm a sucker for Mal/River. River is young, but she's hardly still a kid after everything she's been through. Plus, y'know, she's not gonna be that young forever; people do age 
My favorite Mal/River story is TheIrishCowgirl's "Serenity Now" series; River is 20 by then, I think, and Inara has once again left the ship after trying to make it work with Mal. It's the story that really got me hooked.
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I think Mal could be brought back from the brink. There's a sense of humour there - maybe trying to look after someone might release a bit of that tension.
I don't see that River having a crush on Mal violates any canon, really. Going by the general age of ficcers relative to the pairings they write, I would say it was a natural thing. 
Then, I'm a cynical old bag...
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Quote:
Originally posted by SpaceAnJL:
I don't see that River having a crush on Mal violates any canon, really.
I can easily see her having a crush on Mal. *g* He's her hero, he's handsome and safe.
It's the reciprocation I have trouble buying.
But overall, I prefer the aspect of their relationship that's purely spiritual. The way they are two very similar people struggling with the task of reinventing themselves.
Quote:
Going by the general age of ficcers relative to the pairings they write, I would say it was a natural thing.
I guess there we hit the difference between fiction and real life. *g*
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