What Gives With Inara?
POSTED BY: Jongsstraw
UPDATED: Thursday, September 6, 2007 14:59
VIEWED: 15078
PAGE 5 of 5
IMO the biggest thing keeping them apart is NOT that she is a whore, he a petty thief. They have both at times looked past that.
IMO It is authority and command. Inara, being a Companion is used to people following her every whim. Mal being a captain like to feel the same way (even if the crew are closer to mutiny).
For that reason I do not ever see them getting together. Well, not as long as Mal has a ship to command.
Can Inara keep schtum on an edict made by Mal which she totally disagrees with? Or will she challenge him openly, undermining his authority? (even if he is wrong).
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You are better at dying
I don't know about Inara being used to people following her every whim. I think she is smart enough to understand that things don't work that way on the raggedy edge. She obviously likes her opinion to have a certain weight on the overall balance of things, but other than threatening to leave, she realy has little to bargain with, and I think she's well aware of that. In my mind, the difference between their respective backgrounds and professions does matter a great deal since it allows them to rationalize their complexes. It's a façade, granted, but it's important. There is authority bithcing going on, no denying, but I don't think it's the heart of the matter. IMHO, it's more about them being unable to surmount their insecurities than anything else.
Oh and back to your question: I'd say that would depend on Mal's state of personal/emotional involvement, or, if you prefer, the relative significance of the concerned matter. I agree that she wouldn't have any scrupules about voicing her disagreement as long as long as injured/endangered crew members or galactic scale cover ups are not involved. On the other hand, I sincerely doubt that she would openly (read: publicly) challenge Mal if he were to get into his "I'm fighting a war" vibe, especially post-BDM. Not that it would matter anyhow...
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Quote:
Originally posted by 2x2:
When he touches her lip out of such obvious concern, I think it does shock Inara - he's not supposed to touch her like that, she can't *let* him touch her like that - and there's this exchange between them as their eyes meet, a little discussion like "what are you doing? you can't do that" from Inara and then I've always read an 'apology' in the way Mal takes his hand away, a sort of "sorry, forgot" kind of thing.
Can I just say how much I love that little hand wave he does? I really wish we'd gotten to see just a little bit more of it and Nathan's facial reaction.
*sigh*
Patsy: When you were two years old, we tied you to the central reservation of a motorway.
Edina: But you were like a homing pidgeon, sweetie....back within a week!
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Quote:
[Not the same Inara we saw at the end of Our Mrs. Reynolds......when she admits with a quivering voice to Mal that she didn't hit her head, she is totally un-guarded at that moment and ready to be swept off her feet by the man she loves....but alas not to be. Watching that scene time and again is both very sad and funny at the same time.
Which is exactly why I wrote a post-ep fic for OMR. Watching that scene drives me stark raving nuts! I'm glad I'm not the only one who gets frustrated watching scene.
Patsy: When you were two years old, we tied you to the central reservation of a motorway.
Edina: But you were like a homing pidgeon, sweetie....back within a week!
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Quote:
Originally posted by nbz:
IMO the biggest thing keeping them apart is NOT that she is a whore, he a petty thief. They have both at times looked past that.
IMO It is authority and command. Inara, being a Companion is used to people following her every whim. Mal being a captain like to feel the same way (even if the crew are closer to mutiny).
For that reason I do not ever see them getting together. Well, not as long as Mal has a ship to command.
Can Inara keep schtum on an edict made by Mal which she totally disagrees with? Or will she challenge him openly, undermining his authority? (even if he is wrong).
I'll have to disagree there.
Inara isn't used to instant compliance from the people around her, but she demands a respectful treatment. She's not one of Mal's crew and as such not really inclined to follow orders unquestioningly.
Which is precisely the thing that would allow them to have a relationship in the first place. Mal wouldn't have or want a relationship with someone who holds an inferior status compared to him, or acts like it. Being on equal terms allows Mal to be a person rather than a Captain.
Much as it may cause friction and conflict, Inara's tendency to question him is probably something he needs in a partner.
How and where the questioning would take place would probably depend entirely on the situation, though.
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Quote:I can certainly see Mal and Inara hooking up, but I don't see it reaching the point where they are the forever-together mother and father of Serenity, making babies as they travel about having adventures, etc etc. That bores me. It's like how Disney takes something exotic and cool like a coral reef and turns it into suburbia.
Originally posted by AgentRouka:
Aww, are you sure? Because I can think of a lot of scenarios that have them a couple with lots of tension and conflict.
Even if M/I are written as occasionally at odds and having spats, I still can't buy into them as all wedded. Why? Oh jeez, I don't know. Maybe because their worlds are too different. I think a whole lot would have to happen - mostly to Inara. She's so far from being able to settle. I'd need several seasons of experiences and changes in her before I could see her getting into any committment to Mal.
Quote:Ahh - but I'm not talking about reality here, I'm talking about fiction. In the majority of fiction, sexual tension is often far more entertaining than couple-ness. At least, this is the case with fiction I like.
The idea that unresolved sexual tension is the dealbreaker is very sad and untrue and disrespectful to the nature of relationships.
And it's not a deal breaker. As you say, Wash and Zoe are a happy couple (not unrealistically happy, which is nice) and I love them that way. But I don't see Mal and Inara fitting into that place. Not because sexual tension is the only way, but because there's so many obstacles between them. Wash is pretty much the healithiest person on the ship, and I think that's why it works for him and Zoe. Neither Mal nor Inara are anywhere close to that.
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hmm-burble-blah, blah-blah-blah, take a left
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Quote:
Originally posted by mal4prez:
I can certainly see Mal and Inara hooking up, but I don't see it reaching the point where they are the forever-together mother and father of Serenity, making babies as they travel about having adventures, etc etc. That bores me. It's like how Disney takes something exotic and cool like a coral reef and turns it into suburbia.
I'm glad we can agree on that. ;) I don't see the making of many babies. In fact, the very idea of any babies is a huge mountain of conflict right there. But I see no reason why this conflict could not take place within a relationship.
Quote:
Even if M/I are written as occasionally at odds and having spats, I still can't buy into them as all wedded. Why? Oh jeez, I don't know. Maybe because their worlds are too different. I think a whole lot would have to happen - mostly to Inara. She's so far from being able to settle. I'd need several seasons of experiences and changes in her before I could see her getting into any committment to Mal.
The way I see it, after the movie those two are both at a point of uncertainty and just about messed up enough to jump into something that most people would agree might be unhealthy.
That's the sort of thing I can imagine would be really interesting to watch. The unthinking attempt that makes them both miserable but also forces them to work through certain things.
Honestly, I'm sure it would get boring to watch them go through the entirety of the first half season's complex arc again in three more seasons just to keep the "will they/ won't they" sex factor alive.
Quote:Quote:Ahh - but I'm not talking about reality here, I'm talking about fiction. In the majority of fiction, sexual tension is often far more entertaining than couple-ness. At least, this is the case with fiction I like.
The idea that unresolved sexual tension is the dealbreaker is very sad and untrue and disrespectful to the nature of relationships.
I guess we'll just have to agree on different tastes then. :) To me, sex is just one stage among many interesting ones in fiction. *sigh*
Quote:
Wash is pretty much the healithiest person on the ship, and I think that's why it works for him and Zoe. Neither Mal nor Inara are anywhere close to that.
But isn't that what would make it interesting? :D The mess of it, the fighting, the confusion, the substituting sex for communication or the rare moments when they get a step right and can build on that...
I'm not talking healthy relationship right from the start at all. I don't want Wash/Zoe II. I want Mal/Inara having sex, basically, and STILL dealing with all the issues between them.
But yes, anyways, when I'm in charge of the universe, maybe it'll happen. Until then, we're all free to disagree, hehehe.
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Quote:
Originally posted by AgentRouka:
The way I see it, after the movie
Wash is pretty much the healithiest person on the ship, and I think that's why it works for him and Zoe. Neither Mal nor Inara are anywhere close to that.
hello... dead.
can we get back to the part where i'm
DEAD.
love 'healthy' Wash.
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Quote:I thought dead men didn't speak hmmm?
Originally posted by wytchcroft:
hello... dead.
can we get back to the part where I'm
DEAD.
AR: Mal and Inara having sex and trying to co-exist and figure out what the hell the sex means... that I can see just fine! It's the hand-holding and being in love and Moonlighting thing of: "ok, now we've admitted we're dear to each other and that changes everything!" that I don't like. It can become the love boat in space.
Which - referring to the Rayne thread - I won't say this must never happen in fic. I'm just not interested in it myself.
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hmm-burble-blah, blah-blah-blah, take a left
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Quote:
Originally posted by mal4prez:
AR: Mal and Inara having sex and trying to co-exist and figure out what the hell the sex means... that I can see just fine! It's the hand-holding and being in love and Moonlighting thing of: "ok, now we've admitted we're dear to each other and that changes everything!" that I don't like. It can become the love boat in space.
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hmm-burble-blah, blah-blah-blah, take a left
Well... it appears we are in perfect agreement after all. *G*
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