Fic: No Power in the 'Verse, Part 2/18 (Firefly, River/Mal, PG-13)

[vialethe]

Title: No Power in the 'Verse: II. Versions of You
Rating: PG-13
Words: ~1900
Pairing: River/Mal, mentions of Mal/Inara and Kaylee/Simon

Comments

[rissy_james]

First, this line was my favourite: ...but her body has followed her brain, shaping itself into an adult to match a mind made too old for its years.

Second, the scene between Mal and Inara was heartbreaking and perfect. It would be that their only kiss would be one of goodbye.

[vialethe]

Mal and Inara are such a difficult pairing, aren't they? It's as though they want each other but refuse to see each other at the same time. Very frustrating. I'm glad you liked the scene though, sad as it is!

[hereswith]

There haven't been this many longing sighs in their space since Wash had developed feelings for a warrior woman who could crush him like a bug. :-)

Loved River and the dinosaurs. And how she talked to the memory of Wash through them.

I admit I don't understand the appeal of Mal/Inara, never have, but that doesn't mean I dislike her, so I'm glad you wrote their parting here in such a way that they come to an understanding, though there is sadness and regret. As there would be, of course.

[vialethe]

Yes, I can't see a Mal/Inara relationship ever ending in any way but sadness, one way or another. As I said above, they simply don't understand each other properly.

I'm glad you liked the remnants of Wash - he's one of my favorite characters after Mal and River, even though most of my fic is post-BDM and so never directly includes him.

[jedibuttercup]

Mmm. Two lovely conversations in this part. Favorites:

> She has shared Zoe's exhilaration in love, secretly holds it as a high water mark in her mind. (ah, Wash!)

> “I said once I'd seen too many versions of you to be sure who I was dealing with. I know now that isn't so - they're all you, the better and the worse. And for all the pieces we have that fit together, there are some that would never be in place between us.” (!!! Yes. Though I suppose you know how I feel about them as a pairing already, lol.)

[vialethe]

Thanks for pointing out your favorite bits. :)

I liked Mal/Inara very much the first time I watched the series...then I saw Serenity, and after I really thought about that 'versions of you' line of hers, it was all over for that pairing with me. If that's truly how she sees him (and I see no reason to believe it isn't), then they could never work out. After that I saw more evidence for it in the series too until I just switched over entirely to River/Mal.

So...a lot of words to say that yes, I feel pretty much the same about that pairing as you. ;)

[how_obscure]

Hello, I usually stay away from Mal/River as I see Mal as much more of a father figure to her and pairing them tends to weird me out. That said, I can see where people could get the idea of them together, especially from the movie. Every once in awhile, I get into a state of mind where the idea intrigues me, where I think about the relationship shifting away from the father-daughter one I tend to see. I guess I'm in one of those moods now. The summary on the sequel to this caught my attention so I decided to come here and check it out

[vialethe]

I'm glad to hear it caught your attention even if it isn't your usual pairing, first off - that's always nice to hear! I hope you enjoyed if you kept reading. :-)

I love Inara as a character a lot, so I definitely wanted to stay far, far away from bashing her in any way - I don't love Mal/Inara and don't think they'd work out long-term, but by no means do I blame that on her alone! So I'm happy you thought it was fair and moving as well!

Thanks much for your comments, they're very appreciated.