Nandi - in dulcimer jubilo

here be some nice chattings c/o of charlie and sundry shiny-minded folk.
http://wytchcroft.livejournal.com/61314.html#cutid1

I'll have to check it out later, I think these computers block livejournal.

But, one thing I'm curious about Nandi is, how much is for show? She makes as though destroying a dulcimer is such a supremely rebellious act. And while poisoning the previous brothel owner so she could take over is more overtly rebellious, I still get the feeling like she's really playing to the audience with Mal.

Who is actually seducing who there? And why? Was Nandi actually in need of comfort, as Inara suggested? Did she see Mal's help as a sort of debt she wanted to repay?

Bytemite wrote:I'll have to check it out later, I think these computers block livejournal.

But, one thing I'm curious about Nandi is, how much is for show? She makes as though destroying a dulcimer is such a supremely rebellious act. And while poisoning the previous brothel owner so she could take over is more overtly rebellious, I still get the feeling like she's really playing to the audience with Mal.

Who is actually seducing who there? And why? Was Nandi actually in need of comfort, as Inara suggested? Did she see Mal's help as a sort of debt she wanted to repay?

i think you can play it either way depending where your sympathies lie. i certainly think she is an ambiguous character and that there was more going on between her and Inara (in HOG) than we know. Some very significant looks get exchanged to say the least.

wytchcroft wrote:nice chattings

One hundred and twelve comments???????

Give me a week...

I read it (...well, most of it ) What a lot of interesting ideas.

She didn't leave just because she busted a dulcimer. That was just symptomatic of her basic differences with the Guild; she was already chafing. Perhaps she wanted to work as an independent Companion (kinda like Inara does) and they wouldn't give her permission. Wanted to keep her within one of the Houses, under the watchful eye of the Priestess. A bit of a loose cannon...another thing she has in common with Mal.

I don't think she "learned to say 'ain't'," either. I think she *remembered* how to say 'ain't'.

ebfiddler987 wrote:I read it (...well, most of it ) What a lot of interesting ideas.

She didn't leave just because she busted a dulcimer. That was just symptomatic of her basic differences with the Guild; she was already chafing.

oh most definitely.

Perhaps she wanted to work as an independent Companion (kinda like Inara does) and they wouldn't give her permission. Wanted to keep her within one of the Houses, under the watchful eye of the Priestess. A bit of a loose cannon...another thing she has in common with Mal.

maybe so, seems plausible - but why fire her ass and strike her off the Guild??

I don't think she "learned to say 'ain't'," either. I think she *remembered* how to say 'ain't'.

This. Compare her to Yo/Saff. Saff strikes me far more as a privileged wanna-be. Also; Nandi is a deal tougher. Shame we never got to see them meet. That triangle Inara/Nandi/Yo-Saff is always curious and interesting and my opinions on all 3 characters have shifted greatly over the years.

And yes; some fine posting in that thread from people, for which i'm still grateful .

maybe so, seems plausible - but why fire her ass and strike her off the Guild??

This is one of those things that makes me think she wasn't telling the whole truth.

Saff strikes me far more as a privileged wanna-be.

I could see that. She is kind of a brat. She's like what River or Inara might be if the training had gone wrong.

Nandi, I'm honestly not sure about her origins. I could see her learning to say ain't as much as I could see her remembering how.

Bytemite wrote:

Nandi, I'm honestly not sure about her origins. I could see her learning to say ain't as much as I could see her remembering how.

She certainly invites speculation - and yet i've hardly mentioned her in my fics, which is a real oversight.
Oddly, i've actually given more time to Sheydra!

I've mentioned Nandi a few times and tried to explore all the motivations there. Sheydra will also eventually make an appearance.

Nandi really is a mystery though, almost as much as Inara herself.

Bytemite wrote:I've mentioned Nandi a few times and tried to explore all the motivations there. Sheydra will also eventually make an appearance.

Nandi really is a mystery though, almost as much as Inara herself.

and the hell of it is that each may hold the answer to the mystery of the other.

ebfiddler987 wrote:I read it (...well, most of it ) What a lot of interesting ideas.
.

i've tagged a question to it;
Is it just me or does Inara seem a little over-emphatic in her use of the word "Whore"???
over-emphatic as in messed the frack up!

I dunno. She's hesitant about it, though she does say "it applies" which is questionable.

I've always figured Inara is self-aware enough that she doesn't really care about the word unless it's used as an insult, and it's also a convenient excuse to push Mal away. If the guild is intended to protect prostitutes, then women operating outside of the protection of the guild ought to be looked at with compassion, not with scorn/as competition.

Bytemite wrote: it's also a convenient excuse to push Mal away.

Interesting - and plausible.
Equally, i suppose, it might be to grab his sympathy.

it always sounds odd though.

True. Not really saying it in a way so Mal can understand, he'd pick up on it anyway. She deliberately makes a distinction between Nandi's girls (and boys) and herself, though she's reluctant about it so can't be for the obvious reason.

it's like you said, a lot of small and significant moments between folk in that episode.

Yes, that episode just is teeming with little hints of Inara's backstory.

ebfiddler987 wrote:

wytchcroft wrote:we're doing well for poetry up here just now!

Hail, Poetry!

A damsel with a dulcimer
In a vision once I saw:
It was an Abyssinian maid,
And on her dulcimer she played,
Singing of Mount Abora.
Could I revive within me.
Her symphony and song,
To such a deep delight 'twould win me.

coleridge - kubla khan.

*insert pithy Nandi response here*

wytchcroft wrote:

ebfiddler987 wrote:

wytchcroft wrote:we're doing well for poetry up here just now!

Hail, Poetry!

A damsel with a dulcimer
In a vision once I saw:
It was an Abyssinian maid,
And on her dulcimer she played,
Singing of Mount Abora.
Could I revive within me.
Her symphony and song,
To such a deep delight 'twould win me.

coleridge - kubla khan.

*insert pithy Nandi response here*

She would quote Genghis Khan

ebfiddler987 wrote:

She would quote Genghis Khan

quite so. (ahem)

oh, ps; great question about the Academy btw;
but getting my thoughts on that together is why i wrote some fics in the first place! might take a while to organise an answer...

I still haven't read that livejournal entry... I should because I think understanding Nandi and why she is who she is and why she gets involved with mal like she does might give insights into both Mal and inara.

I have to put aside some time for it, maybe tomorrow after hike and lunch. I'm hoping it will get my own mind juices going.