> > Maybe that's the difference. Liu Xi has killed people, but paradoxically is a very sympathetic person.
>
> It's better to be a sympathetic murderer than an unsympathetic smartass?
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It means Liu Xi is more likely to become a better person, and Tom Black is more likely to become worse. At the very least, it encourages people to help Liu Xi.
> > > So it's okay to be rude when you lose your temper but not otherwise?
> > She has to be pushed pretty far before she starts cursing. It's her alternative to reacting violently when she's pushed too much, or when she has no other defense. She's not as composed under pressure as Chiaki, and not as even tempered as Lara.
>
> You'll notice that Tom hasn't sworn at anyone.
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Yet, he hasn't. Liu Xi is young and lets things get her angry sometimes. With her elemental power, it's better than obliterating anyone who makes her angry.
> > > Tom's meant to be a somewhat grey character, so he has to have significant flaws as well as some virtues.
>
> > The problem is, the flaws are turning him into everyone's enemy.
>
> Where are all the attempts to befriend him? Asil made the effort and Tom was pretty decent to her - before things span out of his control.
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There's two parts to this: a) He's talking to the wrong people - the Feds and Sir Mumphrey don't try to befriend anyone. And b) It's no one's job really to try to befriend him.
Lara, remember, met with the Carnifex and was very nice to him, but that's just her nature. If she met Tom she probably would have behaved the same way, at least until he became rude - because she doesn't really owe him anything either.
> > For example, Chiaki isn't always everyone's friend, but she's so polite and calm that she even gets away with carrying a sword into tense situations. If she would be a jerk *and* carry a sword, she would likely end up in confrontations much more often. As she would say, it's easier to disarm with words than with might.
>
> Whereas Tom hasn't used his powers against anyone who hasn't attacked him first except to avoid conflict.
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Chiaki would pointedly consider his use of power to be reckless and stupid. She carries a sword, but she never implies it will be used - that would be an example of reckless and stupid. Instead she tries to make people around her feel at ease so they would never expect her to draw the sword and attack (unless they've already become aggressive and she's forced to defend herself or others).
The point is, Chiaki knows carrying a sword makes people around her uneasy - so she doesn't contribute to that by being arrogant too. She tries to calm them so they forget about the sword and focus on the topic at hand.
> > Lara has a home in another universe, but she doesn't really mind being associated with the Lair Legion. She doesn't want people to think she takes orders from them, but she does want them to know she's there to help (when she is there).
>
> Nobody's asked Tom to help out the LL.
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He never offered. Lara did, even though the LL resisted at first because she's a civilian. Chiaki didn't wait for an offer, she just took the initiative.
> What would have been a better way for him to avoid an assassination squad awaiting him at his destination?
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That depends on the situation on the ground. Chiaki probably would have tried to negotiate her way out of it. Failing that she would have used trickery and disappeared at Heathrow. Either way, the other passengers on the plane would have been blissfully unaware.
> > Or the way he responded. Cops often say innocent people have nothing to hide - the moment he started being evasive and sarcastic, that sets off alarm bells in a decent investigator, and thanks to cell phone and radio technology, that probably extended all the way to Project Pendragon in England.
>
> Innocent people are entitled to privacy and therefore are allowed to hide things, whatever cops might want to think.
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That's true, but it's also a matter of what kind of impression you leave. Tom exhibited the behavior of someone who knows he has the upper hand, and that makes the cops nervous.
For instance, if Chiaki were asked by cops to produce something she didn't want to, she would say "I'm sorry, I must decline until my attorney is present." Which creates a tense atmosphere, but the cops also don't feel like they're being mocked.
> > Imagine if he would have been more cooperative. Probably still would have been deported, because that decision had been made already, but he might have been able to land in England safely.
>
> He could have landed safely in England where the Project:Pendragon special ops team was waiting for him.
>
> In fairness to the authorities, the last person they knew to be suffused with Kaos Energy conquered Badripoor and turned it into a rogue nation-state supporting global terrorism, recruited a literal army of superheumans to work for him, then damn near wiped out the world's superhero community single-handed before he was taken down. And Count Armaggadon could be stung by holy water. That kind of past experience is bound to make governments a little bit jumpy.
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That's what they were expecting, yes. What Tom should have given them is what they didn't expect - someone polite, cooperative, and not dangerous looking at all. Then the Feds may have called Project Pendragon and told them Tom is being cooperative.
Tom is definitely behaving within his rights. The problem is, because he has a power that's deemed dangerous he has a responsibility to go beyond rights and go out of his way to make other people comfortable with him.
> > > > What would really give her a crisis of loyalty is if the Lair Legion has a seemingly good reason to take over the universe by force, and asks for her help.
> > > That's unlikely though.
> > That's one of the reasons she helps the Lair Legion and not the Hooded Hood.
>
> The Hooded Hood would be unlikely to ask for her help. He'd arrange other ways to have her further his plans.
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Lara recognizes a request for help even when it comes in that form. She finds it amusing that he has issues with pride. Of course he may realize that too and just ask her to take the shortest route and avoid all the extra work.
> > > Better than what? So far we haven't even heard how he reacts to Regret walking into his office.
> > She's going to be very suspicious at the least.
>
> I'm about to post what happens next, so then we'll see. But really, unless Liu Xi is dating Vinny can she really give him grief for seeing someone else?
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Yes, because she can.
