unmakeme_tlv | network and actionspam

network and actionspam

[[OOC: SO, Natasha went home to a situation that she thought would be exactly what she could handle. It was not. So she's back, and she's sad and angry, but she's willing to try this whole wardening thing again, and really take her time wording her bargain this time. She's been gone since just a few days after Sokolov left. Natasha goes to violence when she's upset, and she's very upset. But if you want to fight with her in a good natured sort of way, I would love you forever.]]

[Anyone paying very close attention might have noticed Natasha gone for a couple of weeks. ANyone not paying close attention, this will probably come out of nowhere. She didn't say goodbye, didn't let anyone know she was planning on going home, she just left. Her cabin didn't disappear with her, though, but she wasn't around to ponder that one.

Now, coming back, seeing that everything is exactly the way she left it, she's beyond pissed.]

So I'm back, and I want to talk to the Admiral. Actually talk to him, none of this leaving messages crap. I want to see that liar face to face.

[Not that he's actually a liar, exactly. Which is the real rub. Natasha has no way of knowing if he did or did not keep his promise. The problem is with what she asked for. Not specific enough. Or maybe too specific. Or just the wrong thing altogether. But one thing is for sure - time stops, no one notices that she's gone, and things can change. SO she's willing to try again. Once she burns off a little of her rage at feeling entirely helpless in the most important area of her life.]

-----------------------

[For any poor bastard unfortunate enough to run into Natasha on her way to the gym, your face may just end up looking more appealing than the punching bag she's after. Or, with the way she's feeling, you may get a desperately angry woman hugging you hard enough to make your ribs creak. It really is difficult to tell.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Welcome back! What happened?

Nothing happened. That's the point. I spent weeks tracking him up a fucking mountain, getting eaten alive by--

[No, that's totally useless. Chromie can't help her.]

Doesn't matter.

What did the Admiral lie about, I mean.

...If you don't want to share, I understand completely.

About his fucking deal. He was supposed to make things better, not fuck them up even more.

[To be fair, he didn't actually fuck it up. Natasha got what she asked for, technically. It just didn't make things better.]

What happened?

It doesn't matter. [Though her voice tells a different story.]

I just need him to fix it.

If the Admiral isn't coming through on his deals, I need to know. Please.

[This comes later, after Natasha has gotten a brief conversation and calmed down. A little. Not much.]

He's coming through. Just... be very specific. Far more specific than you think you need to be. Sit down with someone and get them to play devil's advocate with you on your bargain.

...Alright.

Thank you for responding. I know this must be.. incredibly difficult.

Frustrating, more than anything. I hate mind games.

[Yes, totally ridiculous statement, given who and what Natasha is. But there's a big difference between being the one with the upper hand, or on more or less even ground, and being totally powerless.

So, to be most accurate, she hates being at the mercy of a mind game.]

May y'have better luck than me, girl. The Admiral's never been the conversational type.

I can be persuasive.

Aye. Perhaps he'll be more inclined to listen to one of his precious pets.

Hope so, for his sake.

Do let me know how he treats his wardens, wench.

Might have, right up until the wench bit.

[Now? Not so much.]

You take offense?

I take offense.

[What was your big clue?]

If you were an inmate, I might have felt inclined to apologize.

If you were a warden, I might have cared about your opinion of me.

And it is your ignorance that will prove your downfall.

Says the one with the shackles.

I know what my downfall is, and it's not ignorance. If you're going to be a dismissive prick, I'm going to treat you like one. You're not my job here.

And you are not my problem here.

What did he lie about?

I don't know if he did. But my deal didn't work. I got nothing. I think it might even be worse than before.

So maybe he just can't change some things. Should have known better.

What did you ask for?

[Quiet, but very serious. She doesn't want to pry, but - she knows people who got planets. Everything about the barge supervenes on Deals. If the Admiral isn't following through, it's - bad.]

Does it matter?

[Beat.]

I asked for help for a friend. He's not helped. He's turning into a mountain man and he won't even let me talk to him. That's not helped.

It matters.

[Quiet and absolute.]

What kind of help was it supposed to be?

Help with a friend. A chance for me to help him. I never got it.

[Natasha's chance to help had been coming. Of course, even with the realization in Clint's mind, the knowledge that she was there burning bright, it would have taken the archer months to act on it. Her frustration had boiled over before that pivotal moment arrived, giving the Admiral a chance to strike another bargain.

Natasha got what she asked for, just not what she wanted.]

Why come back, if he's a cheat?

Because coming back is the only way to get a piece of him.

[This is true. And yet.]

Do you have a plan?

Sure I have a plan.

[Actually, not so much. Right now she's just all kinds of angry and wanting someone's face to take it out on.]

[She might just run into you somewhere along the hall. A flash of red hair, as she's emerging from a room, and she calls out, suddenly, without thinking:] Natasha?

What?

[Natasha rounds on Raven, fists balled, face stony and more than a little terrifying.

But it fades. It's not Raven's fault. So she takes a deep breath, though her hands don't unclench.]

What?

[She smiles, tentatively, careful not to flinch back.]

You're back?

[Natasha sighs heavily. Deep breath in, deep breath out. No, it's not helping.]

I'm back. [Nod.] Things didn't really... work out, back home.

I'm sorry.

So you're taking another deal?

I don't have much of a choice. No time passed. He told the truth about that. It was like I'd never left. I need to fix--

[Natasha is fond of Raven. She might even like her. But Raven is also tied to Loki now, and it's a difficult thing to separate her from that bitterness in Natasha's mind.]

We shouldn't be talking about this.

[ Oh. She's not sure how to interpret that, other than a withdrawal of some measure of trust. So she retreats an inch or two. ]

Sorry.

[Natasha just shakes her head, automatic.]

Not your fault. You didn't ask to be shackled to an irredeemable sociopath. But you are, and he's not someone I have any interest in dealing with ever again. Putting him down the first time was draining enough.

[It's as close to a heart to heart as Natasha is willing to get right now. But Raven is a smart woman. Hopefully smart enough to read between the lines and see what Natasha means - that it's not a loss of affection, of a lowered opinion of Raven, but a question of loyalties.

In order for her to be loyal to Loki's emotional well being, she'll most likely turn away from Natasha's. As she should. Natasha's friendship won't help Raven get whatever it is she's here for.]

I don't think he's the face to face type.

I can be persistent.

...I think if you want to see him. You need to find him. [She can be persistent, and stubborn, too. But she doesn't believe in just waiting.]

That's the plan. The ship's not that big. Only a matter of time.

[She'll keep looking (loudly and relentlessly) until she either finds him, or annoys him enough that he finds her.]

No one's found him yet. But. Maybe if you could get through the walls...

I'll take the whole fucking ship apart if I have to.

[And maybe she will have to. Who knows? But she's talked to him before, striking her first bargain. So she knows that he exists, and she knows that there's a way to get to him. That's enough of a start.]

You could try... [Red had, too. And she/d talked over the coomm. But it's hard, of course.]

The ship makes it hard.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

network and actionspam

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

[private]

[private]

[private] also let's say this thread has been voice

[private - voice]

[private - voice]

[private - voice]

[private - voice]

[private - voice]

[private - voice]

[private - voice]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject