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]

[ 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.

[pyroelectric]

[AZULA WISHES.]

If that were the case, I'd already have it in the bag.

Unfortunately, the crown is still handed down to the eldest child, regardless of aptitude.

[ladybro]

[ it's quite the claim, but kate isn't keen to call her bluff. after all, she's well aware of what even the most pampered of teenage girls can achieve with a bit of training and a lot of willpower. but nor does she dwell all that long on the boast -- by now, she's barely skirted the limits of politeness in her questioning. ]

Things are a bit different where I come from. [ ... ] My, uh, nation ditched that hereditary business ages ago.

[pyroelectric]

Oh? How do you decide it, then?

[ladybro]

Elections. [ she offers up a thoughtful hum. ] Not that it's any less of a crap shoot.

[pyroelectric]

... You decide the heir by election. [She sounds slightly disbelieving.]

And... who votes in these elections? The royal family? ... The military generals?

[ladybro]

Everyone.

[ okay, now she turns around and leaves the food unattended for a moment just to witness azula's face. ] Well, except for kids and cons.

[pyroelectric]

... Surely you must be joking.

That sounds like an incredibly inefficient system just to decide between one's ruler between a few family members.

[ladybro]

I don't think anyone would ever accuse democracy of being efficient. [ a quirk of the lips. ]

[pyroelectric]

And what happens when the current ruler dies? It must take weeks to prepare an election among the whole country.

[ladybro]

His second-in-command serves out the rest of the term. [ ... ] Vice President.

[pyroelectric]

I see. And how long is a "term"?

[ladybro]

Four years. [ kate seems (intuitively) to understand that the protein chunks take far less time than actual chicken to cook, so she begins to sauce them with the salty-n-sweet peanut mixture right now. ] But that's just how the US of A does it. It's not, like, universal.

[pyroelectric]

[Azula's laughter is awkward and disbelieving.]

It's hard to imagine much of anything gets done with the government changing every four years.

[ladybro]

[ the slightly roasted scent of peanut fills the air. quickly, the sauce seems to thicken. kate smiles -- feeling a little baby fern of pride unfurl in her heart at such a success. it might still taste like bland goop, but at least it'll be bland goop prepared well. ]

Some things get done. Some things don't. The general consensus is that it's better than a tyranny. My country isn't a fan of putting all the power in one hand.

[ some might call it paranoia. and kate? well, kate's got her own beefs with the political system. but she doesn't advertise them too loudly. ]