may mingle (blameless!)

[revivo]

Who: Blameless crew + visitors
Broadcast: N/A
Action: Aboard the Blameless
When: May

[time to get your mingle on, people lacking blame and friends!]

Comments

[beathach]

Give her time and then get that ice cream I promised her done?

[ladybro]

Can I offer some advice? Save the ice cream for the post-reconciliation. There's nothing more disingenuous than an apology that comes with perks. [ slowly, she unfolds her legs. kate hops down from the counter. ] Give her time, sure, but...then just say you're sorry.

Don't make the mistake of trying to sweeten the deal. Literally.

[beathach]

[bless you Kate and your good advice]

Right. Yeah, I'll - do that. [a pause, because - he really is taking this seriously] Should I . . . apologize in person or - over the devices?

[ladybro]

That's a little murkier. Myself? I wouldn't turn my nose up at a text. But Kara? [ kate shrugs. ]

Be bold, Hank. Call her up and say you want to apologize -- and ask her if she wants to meet up, or if she'd rather keep some distance. Let her choose. Just...not yet.

[ not yet for sure. ]

[beathach]

[he lets out a sigh. Is he even capable of being bold? He has no idea]

Mm, I'll give her more time first. And then I'll - . . . call her. She deserves more than just a text.

[ladybro]

And make your peace with the fact that you might not get to be as good of friends as you were before. [ kate crosses her arms, knife still dangling from her fingers. ] Kara's a great person. She's gonna try to make it work. But sometimes it just...doesn't work the way it used to.

[beathach]

That much I know. I don't expect her to try, and if she does - then it's more than I deserve.

[ladybro]

[ a stiff nod, then: ]

This not-ex of yours must be really something.

[beathach]

She's . . . yeah. She's something.

[what an understatement]

[ladybro]

I hope she's worth it. [ kate doesn't talk gently -- but she doesn't speak with a cruel edge, either. she's merely honest. ] I've been in Kara's shoes before. Kinda. Only the you to my me ended up regretting his choice, I think.

[ but that's because noh-varr chose, mid-battle, to dump kate for his own ex-girlfriend who turned out to be little more than a mirage. a vision. ]

[beathach]

[he appreciates her honesty; not a lot of people will tell him things straight] I hope he did. I'm sorry - someone put you through that.

I keep saying it's complicated and - that's a cop out answer, I know, but - if she wasn't worth it we wouldn't be having this conversation.

[ladybro]

...Tell me about her?

[ he's free to refuse. but maybe if he can begin to try and explain it to her, he can graduate to explaining it to kara. ]

[beathach]

Er.

[he probably should. He wants to]

We - uh, met when I was still with the CIA, eleven or so years ago? She's - Charles' adopted sister. After we met we sort of - bonded over wanting to be normal. [he rubs the back of his neck] And . . . then we had a relationship. She's, uh - she's the reason I'm blue. [he makes a gesture and lets his hand drop]

Describing what she's like is hard, since . . . she's changed a lot, but - once you get past what she's become, she's - one of the kindest people I know. But she's also very proud in what she is - she does things for mutants that Charles and I can't.

Her name is Raven. [he doesn't know if Kate is familiar with who that is, so -] You - might know her as Mystique.

[ladybro]

[ y'know, she swallows all of this very well -- following each new sentence with a good temperament and lots of patience. right up until he says the name. not raven, but... ]

Mystique? [ oh, crap. all of kate's nonchalant tough'n'threatening act sorta...melts away. because mystique is someone she's never met (she doesn't think; but how could she know for certain?) but someone whose reputation is not unknown to her. she bets clint's gone toe-to-toe with her on more than one occasion, maybe. ]

Huh. I, uh, wouldn't have thought she was your type. Necessarily.

[ hank why can't you just settle on a nice non-villainous girl ok. ]

[beathach]

[she's not a villain in his world she's a hero!!

But he figured Kate knew her, or knew of her, considering everything they've talked about. His expression turns sheepish for a moment]

She's the reason I even have a type. [he didn't exactly grow up with crushes on girls or anything - all the girls were much older than him.

Then again - Raven is at least ten years older, too. Maybe he does have a type] You can say it - out of my league, etc, etc. [he desperately wants to lighten the conversation a little]

[ladybro]

Really not what I'm taking about, Hank. [ her cheeks puff. kate even goes far enough as to set aside her theatinin' knife and instead perch her loosely formed fists on her hips. ] Where I come from, Mystique's...bad news. Usually.

[beathach]

I know. I figured. [he crosses his arms in response to her setting the knife down] She isn't - that in my world. She recently saved the president, actually.

[ladybro]

Oh, sure. She went on the straight and narrow for a while. Captain America even put her on an Avengers team but -- [ more perplexed than anything, kate is simply shaking her head. who in their right minds would pass on KARA for MYSTIQUE. ]

It didn't last long.

[beathach]

Captain America? [some of these code names, man] She's - I wouldn't say it's the straight and narrow, but she's never been an enemy, either. The first group of us - I really should just call us X-Men at this point, but she was apart of it.

[ladybro]

I'm pretty sure the only time my world's Mystique was an X-Man was when she infiltrated the team. Something like that. Honestly? She always seems to be infiltrating something...

[beathach]

I don't know much about what she did in the years we were separated, but she's always been fighting for mutants. That much I do know. [he huffs out a faint, amused noise] It seems like no two people are the same in any our worlds.

[ladybro]

Maybe that's just as well.

[beathach]

Oh, it is. I'm very happy I'm nothing like the Beast some of the people here know.

[ladybro]

[ she nods, thoughtful. ] At least if you're different, you can feel like yourself. Y'know? Lots of people have the name Kate. In all kinds of worlds, I'm guessing.

[ so it's a little different than that, but maybe they need a little positivity. ]

[beathach]

[positivity is good. He smiles a little] If it makes you feel better, you're the only Kate I know.

Hank isn't a common name, but my real name is Henry. I think that's a little more common.