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Entry tags:
rewatching Firefly
I've had the previous entry in my head for quite a few years now. The reason I finally posted it was because I wanted to post about Mal/Inara and the word "petty", but I would need to reference my Shipping Theory so that you'd understand the terms I was using.
So... Mal and Inara.
The two of them are the epitome of Snarkers. They cannot, for the life of them, actually be honest about their feelings – so they retreat to the arena of snarky insults, where they both feel comfortable. (See: the start of Trash, where Inara being polite puts Mal off and he demands that she be normal and snarky so that they both know where they stand.)
They both avoid the subject so much that even when they're trying to be honest about their feelings... they still don't mention their feelings. Seriously! Mal says he's "feeling truthsome" and Inara responds by apologising for not leaving the ship earlier. And that's as close as they come.
And then... there's the petty thief argument. Which fascinates me.
I'm going to post the whole conversation below. If you feel like skipping ahead, click here.
MAL
Heard you were looking for me?
INARA
I was. Care to sit? I was hoping to talk a little business. Would you like some tea?
MAL
Okay, what's the game?
INARA
I offered you tea.
MAL
After inviting me into your shuttle of your own free will, which makes two events without precedent and which makes me more'n a little skittish.
INARA
Honestly, Mal, if we can't be civilized and talk like-
MAL
I'm plenty civilized. You're using wiles on me.
INARA
I'm using what?
MAL
Your feminine wiles. Your companion training, your some-might-say uncanny ability to make a man sweaty and/or compliant, of which I have had just about enough today.
INARA
Maybe this isn't the best time.
MAL
It's a fine time. Just talk plain is all.
INARA
I'm not sleeping with you, Mal.
MAL
Uh, no, I think I would have noticed if you were. My keenly trained... senses would have...
INARA
You're not my lover. Neither are you my mother, My House Mistress or anyone who has the slightest say in how I conduct my affairs.
MAL
Well enough. So?
INARA
So let me conduct my affairs!
MAL
Who's keeping you from-
INARA
I haven't had a client in three weeks. Backwater moons, slums frontier planets without so much as a temple built-
MAL
We go where the work is!
INARA
There's all kinds of work, Mal.
MAL
And ours is the kind the Alliance shuts you down for. I opt to stay off the radar-
INARA
There's plenty of worlds where both of us could work. We used to visit them, remember?
MAL
EE-chee shung-hoo-shee. Are you saying I'm doing this deliberate on account of you? There's some reason I don't want you on the job?
INARA
Is there?
MAL
Well this is one of the crazier things I've heard today and when I tell you about the rest of my day, you'll appreciate-
INARA
Mal, I'm not accusing you of anything, it's just-
MAL
Hey, no, we'll just set course for Planet of the Lonely Rich and Appropriately Hygienic Man. I'll just tell Wash, we can park there for a month.
INARA
Not all of your work is illegal. And the-
MAL
What, you're trying to get me off the job now?
INARA
And the best job you ever pulled was on a central planet!
MAL
How about I stay out of your whoring-
INARA
That didn't take long-
MAL
And you stay out of my thieving. I know my business plenty well, thank you.
INARA
Right. You're a criminal mastermind. What was the last cargo we snuck past the Alliance to transport?
MAL
We made a perfectly good piece-
INARA
What was the cargo?
MAL
They were dolls!
INARA
They were little geisha dolls with big heads that wobbled!
MAL
Hey! People love those!
INARA
And what exactly was our net profit on the famous wobbly-headed doll caper?
MAL
"Our" cut? You're in the gang now?
INARA
Well, since I can't seem to find work as companion, I might as well become a petty thief like you!
MAL
Petty.
INARA
I didn't mean petty.
MAL
What did you mean?
INARA
Suo-SHEE?
MAL
That's chinese for petty.
INARA
No, that's a narrow... there's nuances of meaning that...
MAL
Maybe you shoulda stuck with your wiles.
INARA
Don't put this all on me, Mal. You know you haven't been after serious work in a-
MAL
Serious work? You wanna know what I-
INARA
What?
MAL
Nothing.
So, this conversation has various stages.
Stage 1: Polite conversation
(Which creeps Mal out, so they move to...)
Stage 2: Blunt conversation
(Which, as usual, very quickly becomes...)
Stage 3: Snarky argument
(Which comes to a grinding halt when they hit...)
Stage 4: The term "petty thief"
(Which makes them run straight for...)
Stage 5: Snarky apologies
As I have already mentioned above, neither of them are comfortable with polite conversation. Hence how quickly that stops.
Blunt conversation and snarky argument are their comfort zone. As can be seen from their many other interactions, they are habitual insulters, with Mal calling Inara a "whore" and her responding by calling him a criminal (or the other way around – seriously, the two insults are very linked in their conversation; one inevitably follows the other), or Inara calling Mal "lonely and pathetic", or... many, many different things. And this... doesn't seem to bother them too much.
I think, in fact, they rely on insulting each other to not have to confront their feelings: "Clearly we're not in love! Not at all! After all, he just implied I'm stuck up and I just insulted his hygiene! No feelings here!" So the insults don't insult, precisely, they just keep everything nice and normal.
However... when Inara calls him petty, both of them immediately stop the argument and try to backtrack. Because that insult hit – and neither of them was trying to give insults that would actually hurt.
So we get the fascinating glimpse of two people trying to apologise without having to say an apology. Because they're total Snarkers, and Snarkers aren't going to actually say "Hey, that hurt!" "Oh, I'm so sorry!" – plus, if Inara says "Oh! Sorry! I didn't mean to actually insult you!" then that will raise the question of what all the previous insults were for, which neither of them are ready to talk about.
I have never in my life seen two people who so clearly illustrate the ship type of Snarkers.
The main thing I find interesting about this conversation, though, is not actually this conversation at all. It's the next one, in Heart of Gold. Because in that one, Inara calmly calls him a "petty crook" and Mal responds by being snarky.
You see, they're worked out all the emotions of "petty" in their big fight in Trash, so now petty is an insult (rather than a hurtful insult). Which makes it fair game for their standard snarky conversation...
So... Mal and Inara.
The two of them are the epitome of Snarkers. They cannot, for the life of them, actually be honest about their feelings – so they retreat to the arena of snarky insults, where they both feel comfortable. (See: the start of Trash, where Inara being polite puts Mal off and he demands that she be normal and snarky so that they both know where they stand.)
They both avoid the subject so much that even when they're trying to be honest about their feelings... they still don't mention their feelings. Seriously! Mal says he's "feeling truthsome" and Inara responds by apologising for not leaving the ship earlier. And that's as close as they come.
And then... there's the petty thief argument. Which fascinates me.
I'm going to post the whole conversation below. If you feel like skipping ahead, click here.
MAL
Heard you were looking for me?
INARA
I was. Care to sit? I was hoping to talk a little business. Would you like some tea?
MAL
Okay, what's the game?
INARA
I offered you tea.
MAL
After inviting me into your shuttle of your own free will, which makes two events without precedent and which makes me more'n a little skittish.
INARA
Honestly, Mal, if we can't be civilized and talk like-
MAL
I'm plenty civilized. You're using wiles on me.
INARA
I'm using what?
MAL
Your feminine wiles. Your companion training, your some-might-say uncanny ability to make a man sweaty and/or compliant, of which I have had just about enough today.
INARA
Maybe this isn't the best time.
MAL
It's a fine time. Just talk plain is all.
INARA
I'm not sleeping with you, Mal.
MAL
Uh, no, I think I would have noticed if you were. My keenly trained... senses would have...
INARA
You're not my lover. Neither are you my mother, My House Mistress or anyone who has the slightest say in how I conduct my affairs.
MAL
Well enough. So?
INARA
So let me conduct my affairs!
MAL
Who's keeping you from-
INARA
I haven't had a client in three weeks. Backwater moons, slums frontier planets without so much as a temple built-
MAL
We go where the work is!
INARA
There's all kinds of work, Mal.
MAL
And ours is the kind the Alliance shuts you down for. I opt to stay off the radar-
INARA
There's plenty of worlds where both of us could work. We used to visit them, remember?
MAL
EE-chee shung-hoo-shee. Are you saying I'm doing this deliberate on account of you? There's some reason I don't want you on the job?
INARA
Is there?
MAL
Well this is one of the crazier things I've heard today and when I tell you about the rest of my day, you'll appreciate-
INARA
Mal, I'm not accusing you of anything, it's just-
MAL
Hey, no, we'll just set course for Planet of the Lonely Rich and Appropriately Hygienic Man. I'll just tell Wash, we can park there for a month.
INARA
Not all of your work is illegal. And the-
MAL
What, you're trying to get me off the job now?
INARA
And the best job you ever pulled was on a central planet!
MAL
How about I stay out of your whoring-
INARA
That didn't take long-
MAL
And you stay out of my thieving. I know my business plenty well, thank you.
INARA
Right. You're a criminal mastermind. What was the last cargo we snuck past the Alliance to transport?
MAL
We made a perfectly good piece-
INARA
What was the cargo?
MAL
They were dolls!
INARA
They were little geisha dolls with big heads that wobbled!
MAL
Hey! People love those!
INARA
And what exactly was our net profit on the famous wobbly-headed doll caper?
MAL
"Our" cut? You're in the gang now?
INARA
Well, since I can't seem to find work as companion, I might as well become a petty thief like you!
MAL
Petty.
INARA
I didn't mean petty.
MAL
What did you mean?
INARA
Suo-SHEE?
MAL
That's chinese for petty.
INARA
No, that's a narrow... there's nuances of meaning that...
MAL
Maybe you shoulda stuck with your wiles.
INARA
Don't put this all on me, Mal. You know you haven't been after serious work in a-
MAL
Serious work? You wanna know what I-
INARA
What?
MAL
Nothing.
So, this conversation has various stages.
Stage 1: Polite conversation
(Which creeps Mal out, so they move to...)
Stage 2: Blunt conversation
(Which, as usual, very quickly becomes...)
Stage 3: Snarky argument
(Which comes to a grinding halt when they hit...)
Stage 4: The term "petty thief"
(Which makes them run straight for...)
Stage 5: Snarky apologies
As I have already mentioned above, neither of them are comfortable with polite conversation. Hence how quickly that stops.
Blunt conversation and snarky argument are their comfort zone. As can be seen from their many other interactions, they are habitual insulters, with Mal calling Inara a "whore" and her responding by calling him a criminal (or the other way around – seriously, the two insults are very linked in their conversation; one inevitably follows the other), or Inara calling Mal "lonely and pathetic", or... many, many different things. And this... doesn't seem to bother them too much.
I think, in fact, they rely on insulting each other to not have to confront their feelings: "Clearly we're not in love! Not at all! After all, he just implied I'm stuck up and I just insulted his hygiene! No feelings here!" So the insults don't insult, precisely, they just keep everything nice and normal.
However... when Inara calls him petty, both of them immediately stop the argument and try to backtrack. Because that insult hit – and neither of them was trying to give insults that would actually hurt.
So we get the fascinating glimpse of two people trying to apologise without having to say an apology. Because they're total Snarkers, and Snarkers aren't going to actually say "Hey, that hurt!" "Oh, I'm so sorry!" – plus, if Inara says "Oh! Sorry! I didn't mean to actually insult you!" then that will raise the question of what all the previous insults were for, which neither of them are ready to talk about.
I have never in my life seen two people who so clearly illustrate the ship type of Snarkers.
The main thing I find interesting about this conversation, though, is not actually this conversation at all. It's the next one, in Heart of Gold. Because in that one, Inara calmly calls him a "petty crook" and Mal responds by being snarky.
You see, they're worked out all the emotions of "petty" in their big fight in Trash, so now petty is an insult (rather than a hurtful insult). Which makes it fair game for their standard snarky conversation...
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