Heartwarming / Pacificators

• Daryl knows that her powers are weak, and that she’s not the smartest person around, nor the strongest. Yet she still wants to do her best to help people, just like her legendary grandmother.
  • And it turns out that she's been mislabeled. She's actually just as powerful as her grandmother was, and her grandmother was one of the best Pacificators of Light ever.
• The old apple-seller in Madrid, Spain, once knew a little girl who used to come by to visit, however she disappeared after a terrible fire that destroyed the neighborhood. This little girl? Very likely Muneca - however, she doesn’t seem to remember the old woman... until she had a bite of the apple.
  • Events in chapters 37 and 60 confirms that, yes, Muenca was the little girl.
    • Chapter 61 went further and let us know that the apple-seller, whose name is Hiazea, is actually a very old family friend; "Aunt Hai" not only knew Muneca's mother, but also knew Muneca's grandmother and great-grandmother. Muneca's grandmother and great-grandmother were even buried at the apple farm.
• At first, it seemed like a mere Comically Missing the Point moment, but it shows us how Cinna sees Qamra (when the group were discussing who would be The Bait to draw away Rendo).
  Cinna: Hey, what about Ex-Boss?
  Qamra: Like he’d be interested in some one-eyed woman.
  Cinna: That’s right, you’re too old.
  • The fact that Qamra had only one eye didn’t even enter Cinna’s mind. She only dismissed Qamra due to her age - Qamra is at least a decade older than Rendo - so it’s obvious Cinna thinks highly of her old Boss.
• The platoon unwinds in an adorable, bonding moment.
  • Bismun’s platoon cares about him enough that they want to see him happy with Qamra.
• Bismun and Qamra’s parting: a smooch... and then Qamra messes up Bismun’s carefully-tended-to hair.
  Qamra: Don’t stop making me be proud of you.
• Cinna and Muneca decided to be relatively civil to each other for Daryl’s birthday; Cinna even talked Muneca into staying for the birthday lunch - also, it’s the first time we see Cinna using Muneca’s name respectfully.
  Cinna: Muneca, do you really want to leave on Daryl’s birthday?
  • It wasn’t perfect, of course. Once Muneca decided to stay, she stole Cinna’s seat, which was next to Daryl. Oh well.
    • The fact that Muneca sat by Daryl is a big deal. Muneca is an Ice Queen, and Hates Being Touched (so she normally sits far away from everybody else). But Daryl, within only a few weeks, have won Muneca's respect and, possibly, friendship.
• Cinna seemed to finally gain a tiny bit of respect for Muneca - looks like Daryl’s efforts are starting to work.
  Cinna: (holding a hand up for a high five) And you too, you awesome doll!
• Muneca was the one who adopted Travis into the platoon; after all, it was she who encouraged Bismun to allow Travis stay with them, and she got into an argument with Cinna when Cinna wanted Travis to leave. Now, they have an adorable relationship in which Travis looks up to Muneca, and happily helps her out with anything.
  • Case in point: Muneca scolded Cinna for not taking care of Travis.
    Muneca: (after slapping Cinna) That's for not bringing Travis to lunch with our commander! He's part of our platoon now, and we must share the responsibility for his well-being.
  • The strongest example that Travis is, indeed, really a part of the platoon now: when they were required to attend a formal review session, he attended as well... and in the official uniform, too.
• Turns out Nozimo is a good, reasonable boss... when she discovers that Schorl (the Shadow Sleuth) has been injured (a dislocated shoulder and several broken ribs), she gives him a paid vacation until he's fully recovered.
• While the events leading up to it wasn't so sweet or funny, we do get to see how much Kathy Lee cares for Muneca (who was her best friend during their school days) when she confronted Cinna angrily, thinking that Cinna had humiliated Muneca in front of the chancellor. ^note  Cinna was actually innocent, but Kathy didn't know that yet.
  • Thanks to new information in future chapters, we now know that another reason Kathy was so angry at Cinna is because Kathy — who knew about Muneca's past as a burn victim — thought that Cinna burned Muneca badly this time around.
• The title to chapter 37 is a meaningful one - "Breaking Through." Why is it so? Daryl (and Travis) accidentally discovers Muneca's secret, and didn't reject her, as she apparently feared. This leads to Muneca becoming much more comfortable and warm with them.
• Muneca decides to make Cinna an authentic Italian cappuccino as an apology. Who knew she had such a skill?
  Cinna: E'ottimo! That's what I call a real Italian cappuccino!
• Even though the main purpose was to make Larima look silly, Taffe knew how much Larima loves art, and so she cheers up her big sister when she's a little down by bringing up the topic of famous artists.
• We also get to see that Taffe does care for Larima, despite the tension between them. After cheering up Larima by bringing up the topic of art, she replied to the story of Larima posing in the nude for an artist with this:
  Taffe: What you did for that artist doesn't bother me, but I heard that there were a few kidnapping attempts by some artists after you finished the mission.
  • To understand that, remember that Taffe is normally The Stoic... but when it comes to Larima's safety, she is Not So Stoic. Case in point:
    Larima: I accepted the risks, and there was only one attempt, which I foiled.
    Cinna: I foiled two more without you knowing that.
    Taffe: [looks very shocked and upset]
• When the platoon needed to jump over a barricade, Daryl was understandably nervous about the idea. Muneca, apparently noticing that, took Daryl's hand and jumped with her. What makes this true Heartwarming territory is that Muneca, who normally Hates Being Touched (to the extreme), initiated the contact, and without a fuss.
• It looks like Daryl's efforts are starting to pay off - after Muneca and Cinna took down the pirate Ferdinand, Cinna noticed that Muneca was breathing heavily, and we get this exchange:
  Cinna: Hey, you okay?
  Muneca: I'm feeling exhausted and light-headed.
  Cinna: Of course. It's a hot day, and you were pushing yourself too hard in in that dress. [gives Muneca her water bottle] Here's some water. Take a break and drink up!
  Muneca: Muchas gracias. ^translation Thank you very much.
  Cinna: Di niente. ^translation No problem.
• Muneca decided to take the matter of Travis into her hands. Look at his new outfit!
  • Also, the rest of the platoon (excluding Cinna) has agreed to help to pay for Travis' expenses. As for Cinna, check out the Funny Moments page...
• After discovering that Qamra has been bedridden, the platoon conspired to send Bismun to the same hospital (since Bismun had been injured, and refused to let a doctor take a proper look).
  Cinna: (to Daryl) C'mon, let's give him an excuse to see Qamra!