[MINGLE] One-Man Show

[sixthiteration]

WHERE: Inari Shrine and elsewhere
WHEN: 25 January 2019 through ?
OPEN TO: All opted in characters
WARNINGS: Please warn in the subject line of your comment as needed, and remember to move anything turning adult to a new post.
IMPORTANT NOTES: Final reminders and informational links are here. Please label all top-levels clearly so that there is no confusion who they are open to and what they are for, and DON'T FORGET TO ADD YOUR TAG!
Have fun and ask questions here!

Comments

[blacksky]

She obliges like any decent friend would. Elektra crashes next to Frank and doesn't waste any time leaning against his sturdy frame. Her head rests against his arm as she recounts the story. Her voice drops to a frightened whisper that stays consistent throughout the story. "I saw myself during my time with the Hand. They were keeping me some white room and I... had no idea what was happening. I just stood there, staring at all the marks on my body in the mirror, and tried to remember where they came from. Who I was. They stole my identity along with my freedom. I couldn't even remember my own name, Francis."

A hot tear trails down her face. She keeps going if only so she doesn't lose her nerve. "And then she came. Matthew called her Alexandra. It was disgusting. She put her hands on me like I was hers to do with as she pleased. Every time I tried to put together what I'd lost, she'd do everything she could make me doubt it. She convinced me that I was serving life itself. That I was her child and weapon. I owed it to her to use my power as the Black Sky to save her from something. I don't know what. All I know is she had me convinced that Elektra Natchios was a mistake; some woman manipulated by the men in her life until it cost her everything. I was always a vessel; some empty thing meant to hold power. The part where I was human woman was never real and... I believed her. I can't stop wondering if maybe that's the truth. What if I'm not a real person? And that's why everyone hates me?"

[oorah]

He folds his arm around her, pulling her against his side as the weed starts to really kick in. He's not sure if it's helping or not, honestly, but he's focusing on every word she says with laserlike precision because of it. "Jesus Christ," he says softly, putting the nub out on his jeans before putting his other arm around her too in a tight squeeze. "You're not a mistake, and not everyone hates you." Frank smacks a kiss against the side of her face and goes on holding her as long as she'll allow it. All he's got are strong arms and lame jokes, but he's here either way, right? He can only hope it helps her on some level.

cw: suicide

[blacksky]

She's not in the mood to pretend she doesn't need this. Her only regret really is that this isn't how Matthew handled it. "You have to love me. I'm adorable." Elektra jokes back lamely as she curls up in his arms. "I don't know what to do now. I fought this war my whole life. I was supposed to kill the Black Sky at the end of it." She laughs, half from her buzz and because it's funny in the darkest way. "I supposed I do someday. I just never thought winning would involve killing myself while Matthew tags along like some martyr. He can't even let me kill myself in peace. Typical."

[oorah]

Frank laughs briefly at that, but quickly drops it so he can listen to her. Bruno scurries to the furthest end of the couch and sends a glare their way for displacing him again. It's still pretty cold in here so honestly, Frank is grateful for the closeness on multiple levels.

"Yeah. He's a real asshole like that," he manages, though he sounds unconvinced. It's taking him a moment to formulate his response, but he's getting there. "I know war, maybe better than I know anything else, you know. I know what it is to be sold a bill of goods so you'll fight someone else's fight, too. I know it's... well, it's fucking terrifying, isn't it? Trying to make your way after that."

He'd talked about as much at the VA so even if he hasn't said anything (aloud) on the topic since, it's still a conversation fresh in his mind.

"You find your own battle now. You make your own way. That's all any of us can do, El. We're just out here takin' shit one day at a time."

[blacksky]

Elektra, totally unsympathetic to the weird dog at the moment, takes the moment to move in closer to essentially invite herself to curl up in his lap. It is freezing in here. This is also the only real way she knows how to make herself feel better. His advice is solid even if it's boringly practical. She needs that. There are too many what-ifs to indulge in here. She rather stick with reality as she knows it. Elektra had been used potentially from birth to fight in a war she didn't start. Now she doesn't have to be a part of that. She can pick her own path for once. It's as liberating as it is terrifying. He is absolutely right about that.

"Your turn, Francis."

[oorah]

For once, he just might need the contact as much as she does so he doesn't react to her working her way closer, just holds onto her that much tighter, placing a few kisses in her hair idly.

"Do I have to?" he groans, but then he rests his cheek against hers and nods. "Kilgrave got his hooks in someone who was too important. Not like it mattered to me— I mean, I was already on his shitlist for saving a girl from him just because I cared, but Kara was different, she was a hero. All the kids looked up to her. And she was around them all the time, even more than I was. It was a liability."

Frank swallows, he appreciates that he can tell this story straight for a change, but it hasn't gotten less hard because of it.

"Jess came to me and asked, if I would do anything. To put that monster away. I didn't hesitate, you know, I wasn't thinking of Kamala or Mike or Will or anyone but me and him and ending it. I said yes, I'd do anything. She couldn't tell me ahead of time, she couldn't tell anyone anything. She had to have been the loneliest of any of us."

Which explains a lot about... everything that happened next, but their relationship isn't the important part of the story now.

"I lured Kara out into the woods to be killed by the monsters. Jessica knew either Kara or they would kill me, too, but she also knew I'd do it. And I did, to save her. To keep the kids safe. Kamala saw it all."

[blacksky]

What she hears is sickening. She's not Matthew. Elektra doesn't put on some cute suit and beat up sick fucks like Kilgrave. That doesn't mean she tolerates their kind or think Kara wasn't worth saving. His reaction makes a great deal of sense. The truth is she think she'd do the same. She's no Captain America, but no one likes a skinny little man who steals girls away to be play things. She'd be happy to slit his throat. Francis could have likely done one better if that man didn't have girls to cower behind, she thinks.

Once Francis finishes, Elektra scoffs because it's so damn offensive to her. She doesn't hide why she thinks so. "They went for your soft spot and hers I imagine. No wonder they never show their faces. They're really asking for it." There's a bite in her voice. She wouldn't mind killing them either.

She's quiet for a moment because this part hasn't escaped her attention. It's one thing Reims had in common with the station. "So you can come back to life there too? Interesting. What was it like?" She'll circle around to the rest. That part about Jessica being something of a team leader against Kilgrave is something else she finds very interesting.

[oorah]

"You never did?" he asks softly once he realizes what she means. He thinks about it. "It was... peaceful. Until I woke up and he was there." It's soft, he's remembering. The red dirt floor, Kilgrave's wicked grin, his senses reacting to a man who's nowhere near them. Probably dead and gone a hundred times over even if there was no Kevin Thompson on that list. He trembles, just once, but it's enough for her to get the gist. Having that creep in his head is the one thing that ever really scared him, he thinks. The only thing that ever made him think there was nothing between him and the monsters he puts down. "People came right back, but after it happened a few times, I was never sure if they came back... all there."