FB: Awkward moments like this are why superheroes stop getting invited to funerals.

Some readers found this scene heartbreaking, and I think Flo might’ve been one of them, based on the alt text she picked for it. Me, I find it sad, sure, but ultimately encouraging.

What Byron says to E-Merl is not as futile as it may look. E-Merl needed to know that Syr’Nj lived up to her promise, even if nothing came of it: he needed to know that his loss mattered to his friends, enough that they’d make it a priority even with the fate of the world at stake. And perhaps…perhaps at this point he needed the closure of a definite “no,” even if he’s not ready to agree with that “no” yet himself.

He still hurts. He’ll hurt for a while, and there’s no way to fix that. That’s a hard fact to accept for big damn heroes, who are used to problems that can be solved a lot more decisively. But he’s working with Kur’Ik in the library, he’s entertaining kids. He may not FEEL like he’s any better yet, but he’s sure as hell an improvement over the E-Merl who was drinking heavily and prone to fits of rage. And he feels genuine excitement over meeting Best. He is better. He will get better.