avalononline | [Video; UN: DemonsandSugar] [CW: Skeleton/Decomposition/Death Magic.]

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[Video; UN: DemonsandSugar] [CW: Skeleton/Decomposition/Death Magic.]

[Someone is working on his skills! Just off-screen there is a skeleton - no, don't question where the skeleton came from, you don't wanna know - and Xue Yang is exuding a sickly green aura. Grinning like he just heard a fantastic joke, he suddenly goes limp, falling gracelessly to the ground. Good thing he had been seated! Though his head made quite a thunk, didn't it?

The bones rattle - only he would think this is a great idea - and then a hand, barely containing enough tissue to be called a hand raises and...

Well. A certain finger is shown to the camera because he is mature.

Then the spell breaks and he returns to his body with a gasp.]

Gross!

[No, really, Xue Yang, that was disgusting.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

They don't have any organs. Isn't that the idea?

[ That they're without the body, get it? Okay, look, her humor struggles a little in the face of desecration of human remains. ]

Uh, no, I don't find corpses amusing. I tend to spend my time punching the people who do.

Maybe the organs just mimic what souls can do without organs?

[Weird thought, what.]

Are you gonna punch me? [He might allow it.] My head is already pretty sore, you know.

[ She needs to think about that for a second. ...Nope, not worth it. Just gonna move on. ]

I haven't decided yet. You do have pretty strong 'supervillain' vibes. But you also have kinda... 'stray dog eating literal garbage' vibes.

[ That's probably not a compliment. Hard to say. Steph has questionable friends. ]

[He might be onto something or he might be ridiculous. It's hard to tell with Xue Yang.]

You know... [Laughing, he sighs.] You're not wrong. I can't help it since I grew up on the streets.

I grew up in Gotham. We know villains. I could give you a shopping list of mass murderers, bank robbers and gang leaders.

Not to brag, but most of them have tried to kill me at one point or another.

[ It's not something to brag about, but she's going to anyway. ]

I don't see a reason to kill you. [Does that make him complicated?] Unless you attack me or - [Xiao Xingchen.]

Don't.

If I punch you it'll be because you deserve it.

So you're perfect? You never make mistakes?

Yes. I am completely flawless.

[ She manages to keep a straight face mostly because she's getting annoyed. ]

I'm a mostly-retired crime-fighter. Unclench, dude.

If you're a "crime-fighter" that means you see yourself as a judge! Who gave you that right?

[This...is a sore point. He's huffy.]

What are you talking about? It makes me like a cop, except I can't arrest. I even used to work with the cops a lot.

At worst it makes me a bully.

[ She's heard all of this rhetoric as long as she can remember. Batman's kinda old. ]

So you work with more people who are deluded into thinking they have the power to tell me when I'm bad?

It does! You might be worse than me.

[Unlikely, but in his mind, maybe not.]

I might be, but I doubt it. I'm not gonna sit here and argue with you about the ethics of beating up murderers. I started when I was 15, I know the pros and cons way better than you do.

Besides, I quit. I haven't gone on a patrol in 2 years, and I don't plan on starting again. Gotham is gone. There's no need for Batgirl.

I started hurting people way younger. [Because his life was awful and that was the only way he could get a leg up.] What if I don't care about the pros and cons? What if all I wanna do is survive?

Avalon might need her.

[ She rolls her eyes. Nobody wins the Suffering Olympics. ]

So did I. It's not a competition.

If you just want to survive then you shouldn't be nitpicking other people's ethics. Especially not when you're this confused about the context. Batgirl is me, as a crimefighter, in a mask, because vigilantism is illegal. You know, the thing you're arguing about completely one-sided?

[ She raises her eyebrows at him. What are you trying to prove, dude? ]

[She's right. There are no victories. But he has found temporary relief from his own pain when he watches others suffer. Is that healthy? No. And he knows better now.]

If your ethics mean I'm thrown in a cage, yes, I will nitpick them.

[He snorts. Since when?]

It's only illegal if you're bad at escaping. Are you slow?

That's not remotely how the law works.

And how does arguing with me keep you out of the cage?

Based on something someone boring said, right? Why should I listen to them?

It buys me time.

Because they're the one putting you in the cage?

If you're holding a stranger's wallet in one hand and a knife in the other, you shouting "I can explain" isn't gonna stop me from breaking your arm.

For reasons I don't agree with! That's pretty rude of them.

What if the stranger stole my money and put it in his wallet? Now I'm broke twice thanks to you!

It's true, politicians are pretty rude.

But that's on you for using a knife to take it back. All I have to do is grab the other guy, tie you both up, and leave a nice note for the police. Threatening someone with a knife is aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Even if you didn't actually harm the other person, you're looking at a year in prison.

Cultivators are supposed to carry their swords. Knives too aren't unheard of - I keep a few on me. In a way, you could count on us as the police force! The good Cultivators anyway. Probably not the ones like me. Even my own kind throws me in jail.

[Which hurt a few years ago. He has since come to...a lot of realizations.]

I haven't hurt anybody here.

Edited 2022-07-20 14:48 (UTC)

I didn't say you had.

I mean, you realize we come from hugely different cultures, right? Where I'm from, people don't use swords. You can't have any kind of weapon in most buildings and public outdoor areas, and you need a special license to carry a hidden weapon. I'd say guns are probably equivalent, but you need a special license just to buy one.

Violence isn't supposed to be a normal part of life back home.

It is, but it isn't supposed to be.

This place? It's more like my culture than yours. [Not that it matters.] Your laws... Your codes... They don't exist. Neither do mine! So don't feel bad.

Tell that to my childhood.

[ Her tone changes, her voice softer and more thoughtful. ]

I know. And I don't feel bad. Not about that, anyway. My world changed. Well, mostly it disappeared, but what was left changed. I quit because I didn't feel like I was helping anymore.

That's all I really wanted. To make things more like they were supposed to be.

[Video; UN: DemonsandSugar] [CW: Skeleton/Decomposition/Death Magic.]

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