sixthiterationlogs | [MINGLE] One-Man Show

[Elektra allows Jessica to have it back since she can already tell where this is going. Someone took them somewhere far away enough that this place isn't common knowledge. She can get drunk and kill twenty men, but keeping people alive? That she has to be somewhat sober for.

She laughs bitterly at the questions. Looks like the evil monster-god is going to be in charge of keeping them alive because the people responsible for kidnapping them will be too smart to show their faces. Lucky her.] It's like you don't even know me, Matthew.

[Elektra reaches into her boot to produce a Chinese dagger. Shock surprise: she took the stuff that everyone was free to take. Thanks to the fact their house is pretty damn cold, she's actually dressed warmly. She has no doubt in her mind she's prepared for this. The others? Not so much. She's honestly hurting too deeply to care.] Let's keep this simple. Listen to me, you'll all live to never speak about what you've seen here to anyone. Don't listen to me, you can die on the way down. I really don't care either way.

[Except for Matthew and Miller. They don't get a choice whether they live or die. Jessica will join their ranks once she remembers Francis wants her alive. ]

[ Jess smiles congenially at Miller's comment, the facial equivalent of "fuck you too, buddy". But she'd much rather clash horns with another alcoholic than interact directly with Elektra's vibe. Probably more than anyone here, she understands that Elektra needs to be in control right now, and she is the most well equipped to guide them (and would be whether or not she accessorized this morning).

Jess's instincts still keen at the idea. normally she would drown them out with a questionably unending supply of bad booze. tragically, up here it is very definitively ending, and the threat of bonding is realer than it ever was in the sim.

she allows her silence to be taken as tacit agreement and tugs her sleeve back to check her device. ] I've got reception. [ She expects the others to catch up on their own devices. If Mark's post isn't up yet, it appears shortly, to Jess's utter suspicion. Call her crazy but she's never trusted the guy. ] If anyone tells him where I am, refer to my earlier threat.

We'd have to know where we were to tell him.

[ miller reminds her before tucking his moonshine away to glance at the watch. wow this guy is super creepy??? ]

I'm getting déjà vu over here. Elektra, you see this shit?

[ it reminds him of when the ais would hack the network on the station, honestly. this guy can't be for real. ]

[Tempted as he is to snap at Elektra to play nice with strangers - well, just the one stranger since they both knew Jessica - that they need to work with to get out of here, he's not going to undermine her in front of others.

Matt has been ignoring all the messages on the network since to get them all read out to him would keep him up for a week. Elektra and sometimes Frank tells him if he's missing out on anything important. She usually doesn't tell him anything.

He can vaguely guess what it's about judging from Jessica and the other guy's conversation. Someone asking about where they are, or something. And the guy's got a point - they should figure out where they are first, and which way leads back to the village.

Which leads to Matt starting to wander off on his own, because it's Matt and he's always two feet away from knocking himself out walking into a tree.]

[She doesn't dignify that with an answer. Elektra didn't survive as a member of the Chaste for this long by giving away her location to strange men. She moves in to glance over at Miller's watch instead of her own. She frowns deeply, deep down grateful for the distraction, as she offers her honest take for a change.] It's like our friend CIRSTA all over again.

[She points out before noticing what Matt is up to. Elektra goes to grab his arm like he's a child wandering away from his parents.] I understand if you're trying to avoid discussing her with me, but spare us the trouble, Matthew. I won't ask who that bitch is until we're safe so stay close. I can't keep the others alive if I'm only worried about you. I'd very much like to keep them alive.

[She might be remembering right about now that Jessica is a person Francis needs. Miller being alive always served her cause of having like more than one friend.]

You mean you? [Matt wrenches his arm out of her grasp. This is quite possibly the worst time and place to be having this fight but hey, no one ever said Matt and Elektra didn't have comedic timing.]

I don't get to build these walls and say I'm not that man who runs around and puts my fists through people just because I can't acknowledge that I enjoy it. You don't get to wave a hand and make this hypothetical past-future-whatever it is go away just because neither of us like it.

[Sorry in advance for making things awkward, Jessica and Miller.]

[She takes a step back like he's struck her. He can be cruel sometimes, but this really took the cake. Elektra can't keep the hurt out of her voice as she responds.] I meant the woman who put her hands on me! Who keeps me in a little white room like some animal she can unleash on whoever she likes!

[Her breathing grows heavy. She can feel her face getting hot with tears, but she doesn't care. How dare he dismiss her nightmare like this?! She knows he doesn't understand what being the Black Sky means like she does, but does it matter? How can he be alright what that woman said to her? Alexandria stole her identity and agency like it was owed to her for bringing Elektra back from death.] Don't treat me like a spoiled child because I don't want to be someone's monster until I gather enough brain cells to kill myself.

You really want to talk about Alexandra right now? She's gone. She's dead. And you are. And Stick is. And I am. We're all dead. Stick had his stupid war just like he'd always said he wanted us to fight for and we all died at Midland Circle, okay?

[They're probably arguing loud enough to draw attention from the nearby wildlife or other parties nearby but doesn't it always sound like this chez Matt and Elektra's place anyway?]

All I wanted was five more minutes with the you I used to love, and all you wanted was Roxxon, and the yakuza, and the Hand. Well, we got the Hand. We got Stick, and me, laying goddamned orchids on your gravestone because you loved me more than you could let me live knowing I'd let my city down, and I loved my city more than I wanted to admit that I loved you.

[Hearing she's dead gets Elektra to settle down at least. Deep down, she's scared. How can she not be? There was a woman out there who could put her hands on her and whisper poison in her ear without any consequence. Elektra obeys her happily; like some wayward child.... like how she did Stick. It's a relief to know she's dead if only so it can't happen again. Stick as well if she's being honest with herself.

She continues to listen if only because he'd clearly been holding to that one for a while. It's better just let it get out. She can bury her concerns, her pain because it doesn't change anything. She's still the most qualified person here. She has a job to complete.] I want to be a human being.

[It comes out small and soft. That's truly what she wants. She never wanted to be a thing that will cause all the pain and destruction the books say the Black Sky will. Elektra wipes her face, taking a step towards him. She forces her voice to be even.] I think I'll settle for getting all of us back to the village. It'd be wonderful if you could stay where I can see you for the rest of the trip. Can you do that for me, Matthew?

[That ends Matthew's tirade and his painful lack of self-awareness when he's alone in the dark unable to hear anyone else around him apart from his own pissed off panting pretty well. He's still angry, sure, he's always angry, but he wasn't angry at her.]

I'm sorry. [He says after a while, breathing out a sigh and turning his head away. No doubt there's going to be a lot more yelling once they're off this mountain.] I'm not- [His eyes move, to the side, towards the sky, back to the side, back down to the ground. He meant to say he wasn't angry at her, but he's said quite enough.] Yeah. Let's just-... go.

[ They're both like children, if you ask Jess, but no one will because she's not a part of their secret club, which includes this gangly male Jess knockoff for why. For what reason. Oh yeah, whatever it is probably won't fly a helicopter to the top of the mountain and take them home, so it matters even less than Matt's and Elektra's little tirade. While they tucker themselves out, she remains on the perimeter of their bout and monitors the network. ]

It'd help if we had something to head toward, Mark. [ she thinks very aloud, very deliberately, so someone else will be incepted with the idea of a signal fire. Probably the new guy; Elektra's plate is full, Matt has-slash-is his own problem. ]

[ oooooookay. this is way above his paygrade. he's sticking close to jessica while the lovers quarrel, apparently everyone thinks he's a troll just because mark is a creepo - he snorts at her suggestion. ]

I'm telling that guy, Stark? To do something about it.

[ then okay yes, fine he'll address this... mess in front of them. ]

You're a real shitty boyfriend, you know that?

[ and it's not just because elektra's his friend. like, this is spectacularly dumb even by his standards. ]

[Neither of them have punted him off the mountain yet so he'll have time to sit and sulk about his comedic timing later. He doesn't have it in him to protest that he's not Elektra's boyfriend, they're just lovers who annoy the hell out of each other.

Where he'd normally turn up the passive-aggressive comments along the lines of 'right, yeah, it's all my fault, let's just agree to disagree and try to get off this mountain', he's all out of steam. He'd be slinking away kicking rocks if he could.

Instead he's just slinking away trying not to trip over himself.] Yeah. I know.

Great. Now that we've got that settled, let's get the fuck off this mountain.

[ he nudges an elbow into matt's back though like, he couldn't actually shove the guy if he wanted. won't stop him from trying, or at least being super annoying. ]

Idiots first.

[She accept the apology for whatever that is worth. Now it's her turn to wander away to text her murder bff to get what she likes to call perspective. She comes back a few minutes later after Miller has started bullying Matt. No, she's not helping him with that. Miller is made of sticks. Matt will survive.] Looks like you've successfully shaved some time off our walk home, Detective. I knew there was a reason I missed you.

[She goes to take the lead now.] Follow me. Detective, don't forget you're our little song bird. You better sing whenever you feel even the slightest bit uneasy about something. I'm fantastic, but this place is entirely new. There's five percent chance I'll miss something which is greater than I like.

[Which is to say leave the fighting of scary predators to her.]

[MINGLE] One-Man Show

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cw: future?? suicide mention idk defenders is weird

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