Two halves of the same angry coin!

Flirting... arguing...
It's a fine line.

Hope! Rebellions are built on hope!

The "Cross your fingers and hope it all works out" kind :P

Sorry, Thraceus, I’m not buying it. Yes, Alice is a brat, a bundle of need, a narcissist who sees reflecting pools at every turn. She’s also preternaturally lucky, and she has come to expect a degree of respect for her ability to throw herself into impossible situations and come away victorious.

Anna, on the other hand, has worked hard and sacrificed a great deal to become a capable super weapon dedicated to combatting the plight of her people. So, seeing those same people paying homage to Alice—a loose cannon with a big mouth, big ego, and outrageous amount of luck—clearly grates on Anna. And Anna hasn’t been subtle about her feelings toward Alice.

Now, when the super weapon rescues the loose cannon, and the loose cannon has the decency to thank her for it, the proper response would be a simple “you’re welcome.” The even better diplomatic response would be a “you’re welcome” followed by an “if the situation were reversed, I’m sure you’d have done the same for me.” Anna’s response was shitty, and given the childish nature of her companion, she should have known it would just kick start the bickering all over again.

So, no, the blame for the ceaseless bickering belongs to Anna as much as to Alice.

Chaucer59, I'm not asking anyone to "buy it" when it comes to my opinion, so I'm not sure why you made the comment?

I find both characters sympathetic and flawed in their own ways, and no where in my comment am I blaming either solely for being antagonistic. I often directly address fictional characters in my comments because I like them and it's an easy way to comment for me.

Anna and Alice more or less have diametrically opposed personalities, as you've basically outlined, so conflict is inevitable, which is likely one reason Mars created Anna to help tell the story. While Alice seems to thrive on confrontation and defensive justification for her behavior, Anna seems to have a quasi military style discipline that she uses to justify hers. Speaking for myself, I understand both and tend more toward Anna's mindset simply because I'm an introvert and, if someone is part of my "team", for lack of a more accurate term, I do not expect them to thank me when I do my job. Granted, this means my interpretation of Anna's reply to Alice's "thanks" relies heavily on my take on the context of the story and what I perceive about her character, but that further emphasizes my point that it is merely my opinion.

TL;DR Sorry my opinion bothers you, but I just think Alice is creating more hurt for herself than necessary.

I wouldn’t say your opinion bothers me, Thracecius (btw, sorry I misspelled your name), I usually enjoy your insights.

I do, however, think your initial post and the last paragraph of your rejoinder are putting the onus on Alice instead of splitting the weight between both women—especially considering Alice’s attempt to thank Anna. You know pushing out those words were like giving birth, right?

I'm not siding with either of them, they're both responsible for their behavior whether or not they want to admit it. I really like Alice, and as I mentioned, I suspect she's been mistreated most or all of her life, I simply don't recall if it's been mentioned, so I'm guessing. I don't find anything she does to be malicious, just antagonistic as a defense mechanism. I think she needs a stable, compassionate and very patient friend, or group of friends, to lean on if she's ever going to have a chance to have a relatively normal life that doesn't rely on her luck to survive.

Anna is growing on me because, despite her words, she seems to care enough about Alice to carry her out of harm's way and look out for her well being. Whether that is because she thinks Alice is a useful pawn or because there's actually some level of humanity involved in her decision making, I don't know, though I strongly suspect the latter. My opinion is that Anna, while abrasive and very driven toward her goal to overthrow the oppressive people controlling Atropos, is not a cold person. If any of the story of her past is true, then it is my impression that she cares a little too much about people and has bottled up her feelings so she can take action. It is also my belief that, while considered rude, she sincerely means that she doesn't believe Alice needs to thank her because she believes that Alice's safety is her responsibility. She was paired, unwillingly, with Alice for a reason, and I suspect it's because Jay understands both women well enough to know that they have complimentary skillsets, or at the very least, that Alice's luck will save Anna's life and Anna's sense of duty will save Alice's. So far that seems to be the case on both counts.

Once again, all of this is my opinion and Mars could easily tell me that I'm reading everything wrong, but this is how I interpret both characters. Do I think Anna should say you're welcome? Yes, that would be polite and generally expected by most people in any normal situation, but neither of these characters are 'normal'. Do I think Alice should expect her to say it? Not really, especially since she's already convinced that Anna is a grade-A you know what and such. I recognize it took a lot of effort for Alice to say thanks, even with the chill, or sarcasm, or whatever the dripping word balloon actually indicates, but I think that sometimes you can save yourself a little bit of heartache by just letting go of your disappointment, or at least setting it aside when it can be better dealt with after time away from the initial hurt. Instead, Alice sets herself up for another verbal sparring match with Anna that will likely just make both of them feel worse. If Anna is going to show any maturity she won't rise to the bait, but frankly, despite my liking bother characters, I think we're in for another round of hissing.

That's as close as I get to 'siding' with Anna and it is still simply my opinion based on my interpretation of the characters and the scene.

I think you’re right. I also think it’s sad. They could make terrific allies and even better friends.

I couldn't agree with you more, they could be a deadly efficient team against their opponents if they trusted each other, but they have either chosen not to, or simply need more time to get a feel for one another. I'm hoping for the latter, but Mars will tell us in due time. :)