Blameless Mingle

[shishkebub]

Who: Those who are without blame
Broadcast: Nope
Action: On the Blameless
When: Whenever we feel like it! Gawd!

[A brand new crew has been assigned to a brand new ship. Can they find it within themselves to get along? Find out next time! Or you know, in this actual log.]

Comments

[ladybro]

May I? [ dry dry dry. alright, kate-expectations. leave the fire nation (whatever that is) woman some space. she backs out of the bunk area. ] I just may. See you there, roomie.

[pyroelectric]

[Azula waits about two minutes, before standing carefully and making her way down the hallway to the kitchen.]

[ladybro]

[ kate bishop has never before cooked with peanut paste -- but she's done a lot of dining out on the town, and chicken satay is always a hit. she's starting to think if she uses some of that chicken-y protein and cooks it just so and smothers it in a sweetened slightly salty peanuty sauce, she might get somewhere near that dish.

most alarmingly, these thoughts had come to her quickly. methodically. comfortably. as though she'd always known them. so when azula walks in, she's treated to the very domestic sight of kate bishop whisking things together. all the while looking slightly perplexed at her own success. ]

[pyroelectric]

[Kate's expression doesn't escape Azula's notice when she comes in.]

You look surprised.

[Azula opts to stay standing, leaning against a wall, arms crossed as if she's perfectly relaxed. It involves less movement than sitting.]

[ladybro]

Like I said, the augment's kinda like having a cooking show in your head. [ she pauses to taste the sauce. considers the flavour. adds more salt. ] And celebrity chef was never one of my dream-jobs.

[pyroelectric]

Oh? And what would that be? Your dream job.

[ladybro]

Easy: principal cello for the New York Philharmonic.

[ so she isn't lying. a teenaged kate bishop certainly had felt that kind of ambition coursing through her veins. but then she'd traded one bow for another, and being hawkeye had become a dream job in itself. ]

[pyroelectric]

[Whoops, European instruments.]

... I see. And... what is that, exactly?

[ladybro]

Cello? Uhm -- yeah, like someone overfed a violin.

[ not helpful. also, too many food metaphors. can't be helped. ]

[pyroelectric]

... I see.

[No, she really doesn't. But she doesn't want to be caught out not knowing something twice in a row.]

[ladybro]

Anyway. When I was little, I also thought I'd grow up to be just like my dad. Some big-time business mogul. [ ... ] Dream-jobs should probably stay exactly that: dreams.

[pyroelectric]

Oh? I see no reason why they shouldn't become a reality, if you try hard enough.

[As hilariously backhanded and condescending as that is, she actually means to be encouraging.]

[ladybro]

It's a nice thought. [ ... ] But I meant more that I'd outgrown those dreams.

[pyroelectric]

Well, it sounds like giving up if you ask me. But if you say so.

[ladybro]

[ kate doesn't fight it. oh, her pride's a little bruised -- but why should she protest, only to balk at explaining her true vocation? perhaps the fleet isn't the best place to keep her superheroing a secret, but she's still not prepared to wave it around like some kind of flag. not when she doesn't even have a bow to shoot.

so she swallows her disagreement. humble is hard for her. ]

What about you? What did you wanna be when you were a kid?

[pyroelectric]

That's easy. Fire Lord Azula has such a pleasant ring to it, don't you think?

[ladybro]

[ fire lord. yeah, okay. that confirms a few suspicions. azula is someone born into power -- be it titled or financial or whatever. kate had sniffed it out almost immediately, thanks to her own elbow-deep involvement in that community. vacation with enough princes of small forgotten european countries, and you learn the type. destined for greatness. ]

Sure. Probably. [ ... ] It's a neat trick turning the gendered language on its head, though.

[ because that's what she takes out of this. ]

[pyroelectric]

What can I say. "Fire Lady" just doesn't have the same impact. I wouldn't want to give the wrong impression. People should know who they're dealing with.

[ladybro]

Fire Anything sounds pretty tough, if you ask me.

[ a bit of poking. a bit of prodding. kate turns her back while she preps a frying pan for the chunked chicken protein. ]

[pyroelectric]

[A girl after Azula's own heart, tbh. She smiles, pleased.]

Well. You're not wrong. Even if you do lack the appropriate context.

[ladybro]

So? [ there's a soft initial sizzle from the pan -- the first curling-upwards smells of cooking. ] Fill in my blanks, Azula. What context am I missing?

[pyroelectric]

The Fire Lord is the reigning monarch of the Fire Nation. Obviously.

[ladybro]

[ kate smiles -- mostly to herself, the back of her head still the only part of her she presents to azula so long as she's cooking. it's a self-satisfied sorta smile. ]

I think I managed to figure that part out, actually. You say you're Azula of the Fire Nation. [ whatever that is. ] And then you go on talking about Fire Lords -- I connected the dots.

[ kate bishop: half superhero, half private eye. ]

But what I wanna ask is...the title? Is it hereditary?

[ are you born into it? ]

[pyroelectric]

Of course. How else would it be passed down?

[Sorry Kate, democracy is still a long way off from ATLA verse.]

[ladybro]

[ a little chuckle. the way azula's been talking, democracy has been far far away from her guestimations. ]

Hey, I've seen whole worlds where leaders were chosen by measuring who kicked the most ass. All this talk of dream-jobs and how tough a Fire Lord's gotta be? For all I know, you'd have to trial-by-combat your way to the position.