daredevilkink | Prompt Post #5

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Prompt Post #5

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:DDDDDDDD

Go, Matt!

(And go, Karen, for not being portrayed as totally gullible. XD)

Oh my god yes. That's totally something House would do.
"You're supposed to be figuring out what's wrong with this guy."
"But figuring out his friend's secret is more interesting."

And I absolutely adore the triple bonus. CANE WARS.

Judging by his interactions with Ray, Archer would be a font of non-stop, not even clever, cringeworthy blind jokes. He would be rude to Foggy and he would creepily hit on Karen.

Matt would have to try very hard not to kill him.

oh my goodness this is E V E R Y T H I N G

i am loving this story so much!

So Matt has had a rough past, but we've all established that. We've also established that he doesn't see anything wrong with the way Stick treated him. And that remains the case until the same happens to Foggy.

Maybe he's assaulted as an adult, or in college, and at first, Matt's like "Ok, so this isn't a big deal, right?" but then he hears Foggy whimpering, groaning in pain, and Matt realises he needs to help out when his protective instincts for those in need, and for sweet, harmless Foggy who's never hurt anyone. And as he's helping, he realises that the way Stick treated him wasn't right.

i like this idea!

Look, if anyone in the world is going to photocopy their ass, it oughta be Matt.

Ooh, this hurts but it's great. Poor Matt. D:

I don't live anywhere near a comic book shop. Tell me what happened, please?

Right I thought to myself. This seems like a nice prompt, lets give it a go. Just a short little 1000 word thing, just for fun,

I'M 4000 WORDS IN NOW!

Stupid angst ridden avocados...

***

Karen had lessons about SoulMarks at high school, like everyone does, most of the students used that time to catch up on homework, sleep, or socialising. Because who didn’t know about SoulMarks? They were the subject of every romcom film, every trashy romance novel. There were hilarious mistaken identity stories. There were the tragic stories where someone died then their soul mate found the Mark and everyone cried. There were impossible fantasy stories where SoulMarks brought your love back from the dead, or made time travel possible.

Karen loved all of them, and she even loved the lessons at school. She traced the beautiful dark letters on the tops of her feet. Tried to imagine what it would be like to meet your soul mate, would you know? All at once? Her Mom said it had been like that when she’d first seen Karen’s Dad. Time slowed down and music played. Karen’s Dad didn’t talk about things like that.

Karen remembered the teacher. Mrs Brown. And everything she told them in those lessons.

”Around 85% of the population have SoulMarks. 15% of the population never develop them, I didn’t,” she said with a half-smile. “But I still managed to fall in love and get married anyway. Of the people who do develop SoulMarks around 5% have more than one name. This is not, despite what some of the more fundamentally religious of our community may tell you, in anyway biologically abnormal. Nor does it automatically make anyone a ‘slut’ or a ‘freak’. If I ever catch anyone using those terms in this school? They will have so much detention that their grandchildren will have to finish it for them.”

Karen had two names. One on the top of each foot, Franklin on the right and Matthew on the left. She dated a Matthew and a Franklin at different times in high school. ‘Frankie’, as he was more commonly known, didn’t have a SoulMark at all. He was sweet and lovely, until he found out Karen had two SoulMarks, then he broke up with her. He whispered cruel things behind her back and looked at her sideways with a group of his friends when she walked down the corridor.

Matthew was actually the first person she ever fell head over heels in love with. It broke her heart when he confessed he had a SoulMark on the sole of his left foot that said ‘Sarah’. He cried when Karen broke up with him, saying that SoulMarks didn’t really mean anything. Lots of people fell in love and got together with people who were different to their SoulMark. Your soul mate could live in another state, another country even. People sometimes ended up with the wrong people, accidently thinking that this was the one because they had each-others names on them but it wasn’t the right ‘Simon’ or ‘Rachel’.

And all of that was true, but Karen wanted the story. She wanted to find at least one of the people she was ‘meant to be’ with.

”SoulMarks are often described in popular media as ‘meant to be’. Which may very well be true. But all relationships, pre-destined or not require work. If you never remember anything else from these lessons remember this. Don’t take a person for granted.

Foggy’s Dad had a SoulMark on his forearm, it was always peeking out from under his rolled-up shirt sleeves. The same dark, fancy writing as every other SoulMark in the world. It said ‘Rosalind’ which was the name of Foggy’s birth mother, the woman who had walked out on Foggy and his Dad when Foggy was six months old. Foggy grew up hating the mark on his Fathers arm.

His Mom, his actual Mom, the woman who raised him and loved him, didn’t have a SoulMark at all. Foggy had two. Matthew and Mary, written right over his heart sharing the same over-sized ‘M’.

One day when Foggy was fifteen, and angry, and stupid, and a boy called Matt had stomped all over his heart, and Rosalind had broken yet another promise, he yelled at his Dad. About how much he hated Rosalind and SoulMarks and how he wished he could scrub his off and just live his own fucking life. His Dad just hugged him tightly and waited until the angry tears subsided.

“Without our SoulMarks maybe me and Rosalind would never have given it a try. She was so out of my league, kiddo. If I hadn’t seen my name on her hand when she was taking her glove off, maybe I would never have plucked up the courage to talk to her.”

“Wouldn’t you have been better off?” asked Foggy scrubbing at his wet face still angry and hurt. “She broke your heart.”

“Wouldn’t have you then,” said his Dad with a kind smile. “Wouldn’t have met your Mom.” He smiled at his wife stood in the doorway. “And she’s the love for my life. But even taking two of my very favourite people out of the equation, I wouldn’t have given up those three years with Rosalind anyway. We didn’t last forever, too different in the end. But she was an amazing woman, being with her made me who I am now. And let’s face facts, kiddo. I’m pretty great.”

That made Foggy chuckle, the dark cloud lifted for a second but then it came crashing back and Foggy could feel fresh tears coming. “Why aren’t I good enough? Rosalind never even turns up when she says she’s going to anymore, and Matt…” Foggy couldn’t finish the sentence.

His Mom came up behind him, stroking his hair out of his face. “You are my beautiful boy; you are so much more than ‘good enough’. You, your Dad, your sister, and me, we are the best family in the world. I found you, and I was smart enough to keep you. One day you’ll find the people you are supposed to be with, SoulMarks or no. And you, my darling, will be so smart and work so hard that you will get to keep them.”

The three of them stood in the lounge hugging for a few moments. “I’m in trouble for cursing aren’t I?” said Foggy eventually.

“Yep,” said his Mom not breaking the hug.

“Grounded for a week,” agreed his Dad, smiling into Foggy’s hair.

“Some people are born with their SoulMarks. Some people develop them during childhood. There have been cases of people as old as twenty developing a Mark. But generally if you don’t have one by the time your twelve you’re not going to get one. Oddly, and no-one knows why, the older you are the more it hurts when your Mark comes in.”

Matt has never seen his SoulMarks.

He was ten when his Mark burned its way onto the skin of his left side over his ribs. The two names ran together with no spaces, diagonally following the line of his rib. MaryFranklin. It hurt, Matt figured his senses made it worse. It burned without being hot. He fell to the floor, which meant he couldn’t avoid or block the hit from the heavy wooden Nunchuck that Stick had aimed at him so it hit his back hard. But his side hurt worse.

“What’s the matter?” asked Stick roughly. “Get up and block.”

Matt pulled himself up. Stick swung his weapon again. Matt focused past the pain, managing to catch the Nunchucks and wrenching them out of the old man’s grip. He threw them away and shouted out in pain, dropping back down to his knees, clutching his side.

Stick knelt next to him, pulling his hand away and laying his own hand over Matt’s side. “What is it?” he asked sounding confused.

“It burns,” said Matt though gritted teeth. “But it’s getting better.”

“It’s not hot,” said Stick. “Seems like you’re getting a SoulMark.” Stick sounded almost disgusted.

Matt felt his heart jump, he wasn’t expecting one. His Dad never had one. He didn’t know how to react to it. “What does it say?” he asked Stick without thinking.

Stick snorted. “I got about as much idea as you,” he said standing up.

Matt lifted his shirt and ran his hand over the still sore, but not actually feeling like burning anymore, area of skin. It didn’t feel any different to any other patch of skin.

“Get up,” said Stick. “We’ll start again.”

Matt asked one of the Nun’s later to look at his side. “Oh Matt!” she said excitedly. “You have a SoulMark. You know my Mother said they were God’s handwriting.”

“Erm… but, what does it say, Sister?” asked Matt. Hating the fact he had to ask.

“Of course,” she said, Matt tried not to visibly bristle at the pity in her voice. She paused a moment to long before she told him what it said. “It says Mary Franklin. So unusual to get the girls first and last name. She must be very special.”

Matt was only just learning how to read heartbeats but he could tell even then that she didn’t really believe what she was saying. Because Matt had heard people call SoulMarks God’s handwriting before, but he’d also heard the same people say having more than one name was a mark of the Devil.

”When you soul mate dies, your SoulMark will gradually fade. The process typically takes around six to eight weeks.”

Marci’s SoulMark used to be on her right hip. It said ‘Joseph’. Marci had grown-up next door to Joseph Tanner. He’d been her best friend, then her boyfriend. He’d had ‘Marci’ written across the back of his neck. Marci would talk about him sometimes if Foggy approached her in the right way when she was happy and settled. Not something she was very often, Marci was the most driven person Foggy knew.

They’d been together for a few weeks before Foggy had asked her about it. It was generally considered rude to talk about other people’s Marks. But seeing as how the first time Marci saw Foggy’s Mark she’d laughed out loud and told him that having a SoulMark right over his heart was solid proof he was an incurable romantic. They were lying together in bed, after some truly amazing sex, and Foggy traced the delicate lettering lightly with his finger.

“That’s not a SoulMark,” he said. Not judging or even thinking very hard about what he was saying. Marci tensed up but told him the story. Joe and Marci had been in a car. Joe’s dad was driving them to senior prom. It was raining and the road was very wet. The other car came out of nowhere. Marci was the only one who survived. Her mark had started to fade almost immediately; it was completely gone within two weeks. A year after the accident she’d gotten a tattoo to replace it.

He pulled her a little closer and said. “I’m sorry.”

“Foggy, I like you, please don’t get weird about it,” she said with a sigh.

Foggy frowned. “Why would I get weird?”

Marci shrugged. “People do. Like they think I should have joined a Nunnery or something after Joe died. Like I’m cheating on a dead guy.”

“That’s just ridiculous,” said Foggy. “What? You’re just supposed to be alone for the rest of your life?”

Marci burrowed even closer. “See, I knew I liked you.”

They talked about SoulMarks a lot after that. Foggy thought that Marci had needed it for a while. Someone she could talk to about it with them feeling over the top sorry for her, or treating her like some kind of terrible person. Foggy told her about his parents. He never even told Matt about Rosalind. And his decision to ignore his own Marks as much as possible. If he fell in love he wanted it to be for the person, not their name.

“So, do you think Murdock is ‘Matthew’,” she asked once, timing it just as Foggy took a sip of coffee, smirking as he spluttered.

“Maybe,” he admitted.

“What does he think?” she asked coyly.

“He doesn’t know,” said Foggy with a shrug, not quite meeting Marci’s eyes.

“You’re keeping a secret from Saint Murdock?” she laughed.

“He doesn’t think of me like that, and I don’t want some genetic quirk to influence him,” explained Foggy.

Marci waved him off. “Oh like you two aren’t in luuurrrve…” she dragged the word out and made a stupid kissy face.

Foggy laughed. “I feel, as my girlfriend, you should be less happy about that possibility.”

Marci smiled her shark smile, the one that made her look beautiful and deadly. “Foggy-bear, I will never be in love with anyone like I was with Joe. It would be churlish of me to expect something from you I can’t give. Your funny, not stupid, and are A+ at oral sex. You’ll do for now.”

“Why thank you, Miss Stahl,” replied Foggy with his own grin. “Back attacha.”

“Your welcome, Mr Nelson.” She sipped her coffee, mischief in her eyes. Foggy knew it wasn’t over. “So are you on Murdock’s SoulMark?”

Foggy groaned. “Marci! In a civilized society we do not ask people we are not intimate with about any SoulMarks they may or may not have.”

“Screw civilized!” said Marci with feeling. “Come on Foggy-bear. I know you know.”

Foggy sighed heavily. “It’s on his side; I can see it when he hasn’t got a shirt on. Plus he flashed me once when he was drunk. It says ‘Mary’.” Foggy consoled himself that he was absolutely not lying.

Marci clapped her hands together in joy. “Mary! Just like you. I hope he’s got your name somewhere else. You, Murdock, and some poor girl called Mary! It’s like the plot of a truly awful film.”

”A SoulMark is personal to the person who has it. You never have to disclose it to anyone if you don’t want to. Pressuring someone to show you a Mark or tell you what it says is a form of sexual harassment under the law. If someone chooses to show you their SoulMark it is a gift of trust.”

Matt was drunk when Foggy first saw his SoulMark. Sat in a terrible bar, back before they found the delightful oasis of Josie’s, Matt decided that the funniest thing in the world would be to repeat Foggy’s name over and over.

“FoggyFoggyFoggyFoggyFoggy,” he said laughing and leaning heavily on Foggy’s shoulder. “FoggyFoggyFoggy, short for Franklin.”

“Don’t call me that,” said Foggy wincing. Rosalind was the only one who still called him that.

“Why not?” asked Matt. “I like it. Frrrranklinnn. Been one of my two favourite names since I was ten.”

“Oh yeah,” said Foggy grinning at his extremely drunk friend. “Why’s that then.”

“It’s on my SoulMark,” said Matt proudly. Then he frowned. “At least people tell me it is.”

“You’ve never seen your SoulMark?” asked Foggy, the idea seeming overwhelmingly strange for some reason.

Matt shook his head. “No,” he leaned further up and felt round for Foggy’s ear. Putting his lips against it when he found it to whisper. “Cus I’m blind.”

Foggy laughed with him and gave him a gentle shove. Not thinking about Matt’s warm breath in his ear. “You weren’t always, jerk.”

“You’re a jerk!” replied Matt still laughing. “Blind at nine, SoulMark came in at ten,” explained Murdock. “I asked a Nun what it said. She had to tell the truth. She was a Nun. Well, she lied a bit. She said it was one name. I think it’s two.”

“Two?” asked Foggy, rubbing his suddenly sweaty palms on his jeans. “What does the other one say? Oh god! Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked that!” he said mortified at the words that had fallen out of his mouth.

“You can read them for me!” said Matt jumping out of his seat with far more grace than at person who was that drunk should be able to manage. He lifted his shirt before Foggy could stop him. So Foggy stood, feeling a little wobbly himself. Angling himself and Matt to block anyone else’s view.

“It says MaryFranklin, no space but a capital F. Looks like two names to me,” said Foggy. He felt he heart racing and he didn’t think it was due to the alcohol.

“Have you got one?” asked Matt, allowing Foggy to smooth his shirt back down while resting his own hands on Foggy’s shoulders. “Does it… does it say Matthew and Mary…”

Matt was swaying on his feet and part of Foggy wanted to lie but the quiet little ‘yes’ slipped out before he could stop it.

Matt sighed happily. “Just gotta find our Mary then… Oh god, Foggy, I’m gonna be sick!”

And he was, epically and nosily sick all over the table and most of a chair. And so Nelson and Murdock were banned from a bar for the first time.

Foggy dragged Matt back to the dorms. When he groaned his way into consciousness mid-morning of the next day Foggy was deliberately and obnoxiously cheerful.

“Well! Good morning, Sunshine. And how are we?” he asked sunnily.

“I hate you and everything you stand for,” said Matt with feeling. Burying his face into the pillow.

“So,” started Foggy, perching himself next to Matt on the bed. “How much do we remember about last night?”

“There was… a bar?” said Matt hesitantly. “I know there was alcohol.”

“Hmmm, do you remember blowing chunks all over said bar?” Foggy grinned at his friends answering groan. “And flashing me your SoulMark?”

“Kill me now,” said Matt into the pillow.

“Alas, I cannot. I merely bring you painkillers and water. I shall leave them on the bedside table, okay? As I must depart to meet the fair maiden Marci.”

Matt raised his head enough to mumble. “She’s more like the dragon.”

When Foggy came back a few hours later Matt was curled up on top of the bedcovers with his earphones in. Foggy knocked the bed slightly to let Matt know he was home.

“Foggy…” said Matt pulling the earphones out of his ears and sitting up. He paused for long enough that Foggy thought he’d forgotten what he was going to say. Then the words all came out in a rush. “DidyouseemySoulMarklastnight?”

“Yeah, sorry buddy,” said Foggy.

“No, it’s okay. I just… I’ve never seen it…” Matt trailed off looking sad.

Foggy came to a decision. It was weird, but sad Matt could not be tolerated. “I could show you,” he said carefully.

Matt raised his head sharply, “looking” to the right of Foggy. “How?” he asked.

Foggy picked up a pencil and sat next to Matt. “Pass me your hand.” He ‘wrote’ on Matt’s hand with the pencil. “I could trace it for you?”

Matt swallowed and Foggy opened his mouth to take the offer back but Matt nodded and pulled his shirt over his head. Foggy just stared at all the pale skin and the dark lettering that stood out against it. That was his name. Just like Matts name was on him. Just like ‘Mary’ was on both of them.

“Foggy?” asked Matt.

“Yeah, I’m here. Hang on.” He put on hand on Matts hip for balance then used the tip of the pencil to trace the letters. Matt held his breath and Foggy felt like his chest might explode. He traced the names twice then sat back. “Okay?”

“Yes,” said Matt pulling his shirt back over his head. “Thanks Foggy, I really mean that. I can’t feel it or anything. That’s the first time I’ve ever had any idea what it looks like.”

“Your welcome,” said Foggy sincerely. Happy he could give that to Matt. Even if it had made them both uncomfortable.

“I know I’m not supposed to ask… but… do you have one?” asked Matt.

Which meant he didn’t remember. He didn’t remember what Foggy had said the night before. “No,” lied Foggy, Matt should have a choice, not feel pressured by something neither of them could control. If he ever showed an interest in dating Foggy, or the magical ‘Mary’ ever turned up, Foggy would tell him then

”The only thing about SoulMarks that the terrible film ‘Written on Your Skin’ got right, was that a SoulMark is always the first name a person has. If you’re a Phillip that goes by Phil, anyone with your name as a SoulMark, that will say Phillip. However, if you have always been Phil and never Phillip, it will say Phil. That’s it, everything else in that movie is wrong. Do not use it in your essays. It is not a substitute for reading the text book!”

Karen’s life fell apart on her twentieth birthday.

Her Dad had been drinking, like he always did these days. He started shouting horrible things at her Mom, like he always did when he was drunk. All this time Karen had enough, she screamed at him to stop, but he just turned on her.

“You have the nerve to shout at me! Your nothing but a whore. With all the names on the men you’re gonna screw scrawled on your slut body by Satan himself!” her Dad shouted at her, his face right in hers.

“I’d rather be that than a coward and a drunk who beats on his own wife!” Karen, or Mary as she was then, shouted back. Her Dad slapped her across the face. Mary stumbled and fell to the floor. She remembers feeling scared. More scared than she ever felt before, paralysed with it. Then came the bang. A large red stain quickly formed on his shirt, he looked… surprised. He went to turn to look behind himself but he slumped to the floor, a dead weight across Mary’s legs. She looked up to see her Mom with the gun. Mary opened her mouth and screamed.

There were police and a trial after that. Testimonies, and the watchful eyes of everybody in town. Everything was dragged out into the open, all the things her father had done. Most of the worst ones Mary hadn’t even known about. Her Mom was sentenced to six years for voluntary manslaughter. Mary visited her every week in prison.

About two months into her sentence her Mom told her to leave. “Mary, please. Get out of here, go and don’t come back. Find something good in this world, honey. Don’t believe anything they tell you.”

“I can’t just leave you,” said Mary.

Her mother started to cry. “I believed it. Believed him. But it’s still there.”

“What is?” asked Mary, wishing the plastic window wasn’t between them.

Her Mom unwound the wide ribbon she always wore around her wrist, and held it up so Mary could see. The dark lettering that was still there, still spelling out ‘Paul’. “He wasn’t my Paul,” said he Mom voice shaking. “All those years, all he did, and I stayed cus I thought…” she broke down then crying too much to talk. When she’d calmed a little she told Mary that she didn’t want her to visit again. “Get out, honey. While you still can.”

That was the last thing Mary ever heard her Mother say.

Mary Morgan left and became Karen Page. New page, new chapter, brand new life. Karen didn’t trace her SoulMarks anymore and think about ‘meant to be’; she covered them in make-up and tried to forget they were there. Soon she had plenty to keep her mind off them.

Until he has to make a quick stop on the way to the celebratory lunch, and shows up with a ruler

omg foggy what the hell, WHY are you not just telling matt? also matt can tell that foggy is lying about not having a soulmark, but of course he has no way to know what foggy's mark actually IS, so what on earth must he think foggy is trying to hide? and poor karen with her horrible past (and her poor MOTHER, oh god, what an awful fate).

i really like marci's backstory here, and the way she and foggy make awesome friends with benefits. i also like the little background worldbuilding you slip in, with the films and the school lectures and stuff.

and you say you've written 4000 words and there's even more to come? joy!

ALL OVER THIS. BRB.

I know right? Someone art it.

(Kind of reminds me of Hulk in his lil floatie ring in one of the Avengers annuals.)

psst! http://archiveofourown.org/works/4152333

Thanks for the fill!

;_; Poor Matt.

OH SHIT HELL YEAH

While doing something for Fisk, Wesley is injured badly and he loses his memory as a result. Fisk feels terribly guilty that this happened because of him, so he decides that the only way to keep Wesley safe is to let him build a new life, far away from him.

What happens next is up to the author. Just give me all the Fisk/Wesley angst.

I've taken some dialogue straight from Civil War #3. If this scene seems confusing I recommend reading that issue (or the whole main event, for those unfamiliar with the comics :D it's amazing). This contains some heavy spoilers from the event, so be warned. I also know nothing about law or the american constitution (since I'm not American), which I only mention briefly, and my knowledge of how bills and laws work is limitd to LB2, but I hope you can all enjoy this anyway.

This takes place right after Peter Parker's public unmasking, and I'm gonna play around with the timeline a bit to make things fit. That means that what happens right after this scene in the comics is not going to happen yet. Lots of characters from the comic books will be mentioned, so if you're unfamiliar with them and it annoys you, you might want to avoid reading this.

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

“My name is Brett Hendrick, and I'm a security supervisor at a shopping mall in Queens.”

“I am Victor Tegler, and I am an I.T. consultant for a major international finance corporation.”

The diner is as nondescript as they come. The perfect place for the not-quite nondescript group of four to reunite, sitting in a booth too small for their large frames, hiding in plain sight with disguises that would've earned Clark Kent's approval... and no one else's.

“My name is Cooper Peyton,” says Matt coolly, projecting confidence and self-assuredness with every word with an ease only someone who has played the secret ID game for years can manage, “and I'm an engineer from Long Island.”

Oddly enough, he doesn't feel as exposed as he thought he would, wearing clear reading glasses instead of his own red-tinted ones. They don't feel much different from his own – the shape of the lenses, the thickness of the frame, even their weight on his nose, are familiar in a comforting way -, similar enough that what differences he can feel he would've simply dismissed if Steve hadn't pointed out the one difference he can't.

It shouldn't be a problem, he tells himself, pushing the glasses up the bridge of his nose like he has sensed others do hundreds of times – like Hercules has done six times in the last ten minutes alone – despite the pointlessness of the act. It'll be an interesting exercise and a nice challenge to his performing skills. And while it's not something he needs to do often – at least outside of court, when Foggy insists the act helps instill trust in others –, he's pretty confident in his ability to make and maintain eye contact with other people. He'll get used to it in no time.

Not everyone is taking their part as seriously, however.

“What kind of name is Rockwell Dodsworth? And how the hell did I end up as a community outreach worker?” Goliath complains, completely ignoring Captain's order to stick to your role and do as we rehearsed. Steve sighs loudly in the unmistakable way of someone who is just so done with everyone's shit, his fake mustache twitching like a live thing on his upper lip, and the rustling sound brings a smirk to Matt's lips despite the seriousness of the situation. “I told Nick Fury I wanted to be something cool – like an actor or a race car driver. You think he could maybe get me something else?”

“No, we take whatever Nick has to offer, Goliath,” Steve says firmly but patiently, like he hasn't explained this a dozen times already. Matt thinks Foster should just cut his loses and quit while he's ahead, and stop tempting fate by complaining to their leader – and now mall cop, and Matt doesn't know if Foggy would be delighted or offended by the mere thought –, lest the man offer to trade. Steve is probably way better suited to community outreach anyway.

He briefly considers proposing the idea, if only to feel Foster squirm a little bit, but Steve cuts him off before he can so much as open his mouth. “Besides, the secret IDs are just a place to go to ground when we aren't doing the important stuff.”

The important stuff. Just a simple way of alluding to their night activities in such a public place. And it's strange, seeing as not much is changing – at least not on the superheroing front - , but this whole new identities thing puts a new exciting twist to something they've been doing for ages. Funny how getting a new day job can make their night jobs seem much more thrilling.

“I'm actually getting into this new secret identity thing,” Matt admits amicably, grinning like a shark. He probably shouldn't be enjoying himself as much as he is, but he's always kind of not-so-secretly enjoyed the secrecy and subterfuge of their occupation. The danger. And okay, maybe – just maybe – he wants to rub it in Goliath's face that he got a cooler job than his. “I'm trying to come up with new favorite foods... new favorite movies... new favorite bands...”

He's not expecting it, so he almost misses it. He would've, hadn't the stutter – faint, barely noticeable, but unmistakable – come from the steadiest heartbeat in their group. Hell, probably the steadiest Matt's ever heard, sharp and precise as an atomic clock. It confuses him for a moment and he trails off, tilting his head questioningly in Steve's direction. He can tell Captain America is gracing him with a considering look, tense enough Matt can almost hear it, but the pieces don't fall into place until the recognizable smell hits his nostrils.

Whatever Steve wants to say, he's nervous about it.

“Cap?” he prompts after a moment, once it becomes clear Steve won't offer his thoughts freely. It takes the larger man a minute to answer, like he's gathering his thoughts and struggling to put the words in the right order before he lets them free.

“I appreciate that you're taking this so... optimistically. I know it's not an easy thing to ask of any of you, to just leave your normal lives and... put them on hold,” he starts slowly, ignoring the three confused looks sent his way, “until this is all over...”

Is that what this was all about? Some sort of misplaced guilt over asking them to make a sacrifice they each would've made anyway? It's... not what he was expecting, but it's also so Steve that Matt can't help but breathe out in relief. He guesses that not even experienced leaders are exempt from feelings of culpability. Not the good ones, at least, so he smiles encouragingly.

“I can't speak for all of us, but this isn't a choice I made just because you asked nicely,” he says bluntly. “It's a choice I made years ago, when I first put on the costume, for no other reasons than my own. This fight is no different from any I've fought before. And not even you, Captain,” he adds teasingly, to lighten up the defiance of the statement, “could keep me out of it.”

He thinks of his words as reassuring, with Goliath and Hercules earnestly seconding him. It doesn't seem to do the trick, though. Steve doesn't even crack a smile.

“I've been... rethinking... the best strategy for our situation,” he admits solemnly. Goliath and Hercules trade a glance, and offer one in Matt's direction.

“I thought we'd already made up our minds on our course of action,” Hercules inputs in his rumbling voice, one again pushing his glasses up his nose.

“We quit our day jobs, stay under the radar...” Foster provides.

“So we can continue our... the important stuff,” Steve finishes awkwardly, aware of their very public surroundings, eyes darting briefly to the waitress wiping down a table two tables over. “Fighting the good fight. Making a difference,” he adds more lowly. “But I've been thinking about it, and I feel making some... exceptions... might be in our best interests.”

Matt's eyebrows rise high above the edge of his glasses.

“You're not changing your mind now, are you?” he says, trying and failing to keep a hint of defiance out of his tone. He bites his tongue and takes a deep breath before he can say something he regrets. Dissent amongst the ranks is the last thing they need right now, and it would only take a small spark to start that fire.

“We discussed this already, and we all agreed on it. Together,” Hercules says reasonably before Matt can continue, gesticulating with his hands in a surprisingly gentle manner for someone his size. “The moment we stop fighting, stop going out onto the streets and protecting people – the moment we allow them to keep us from doing what we believe is right – is the moment we lose this fight,” he says emphatically.

“No, no, I agree with you,” Steve says with a slight shake of his head. “You misunderstand me. I'm not saying we should quit getting out there and doing our duty. I just think we should... reevaluate our options...”

“Reevaluate?”

“I'm just... listen, what I'm trying to say is...” he trails off, clearly putting his thoughts together on the spot, and that helps Matt relax minutely. At least they won't be getting a rehearsed, overwritten speech. It means no decision has been made without their input. “This is a legal matter. It's no longer just about ethics, or what's right and wrong. That would be easier to deal with, ironically. Stark made our very existence effectively illegal the moment the bill was passed, and he's beating us because of that.”

“He's beating us because he knows how to play a crowd better than we do,” Matt argues with a tired groan, sliding his glasses up to his forehead an pinching the bridge of his nose. Hercules grunts in agreement.

“Okay. Point granted,” Steve admits with a pained wince.

“What about Spider-man?” Asks Foster, pointing at the elephant they've been sharing a room with since the press conference that morning. “You believe Tony Stark talked him into just taking off his mask like that?”

“Strategically, it's a brilliant move,” Matt admits, smirking bitterly and crossing his arms as he leans back on his seat. “Nobody's guarded his secret ID more than Spider-man, so it's a powerful message for all the costumes still sitting on the fence.”

“It is a brilliant move," Steve admits with more than a little bitterness, "and I didn't even see it coming. It's going to be devastating for us, but that's not even the worst part,” he mumbles tiredly. Matt can hear him running his fingers through his short hair. “Worst part is I know Tony, and he wouldn't be doing this if he didn't really believe it was the right thing to do. Which brings me to the point I was trying to make... the Superhuman Registration Act is a huge violation to the constitution. The bill would've never garnered the public support it required to be passed without Stark's support. Not even with Richards and Pym backing it.”

Steve pauses and gives them a moment for the information to sink in.

“So... if we want a chance of coming up on top,” Matt ventures, trying to get ahead of Steve's train of thought, “we're gonna need to convince him to retract his support of the Registration Act.”

Steve nods curtly.

"Even though it's already a law-"

"If Tony retracts his support, public support is likely to go with him... I hope," he says earnestly. "It doesn't solve things, but it's the bare minimum we're gonna need to turn this around. It's the first step. We need public support - a majority of it, which we do not have yet - and we know the best way to sway it in our favor is to pull Tony over to our side-"

“And to do that we have to play by his rules. We need to prove him wrong in the only way he'll listen.”

Steve shakes his head.

"All we need is to make him doubt himself. But you don't listen to someone when you're trying to put your fists through each other's skulls. It's not easy to reason with him nowadays. He's chosen to go the legal way, because it's what the people asked for. He's putting a lot of faith in a legal system we both know is deeply flawed - no offense," Matt waves it off with a hand motion before Steve can apologize. "But he believes in it, and he respects it - ironically, given his history - and if we can just use it to show him..." Steve hesitates slightly, and just like that it clicks for Matt.

“You want a legal representative. That's what you meant by making some exceptions,” he guesses, no questioning tone, just a clear and concise statement. He can tell just by the soldier's heartbeat that he hit that nail right in the head, but the thought is not as reassuring as it should be. “You want one of us to defend us out there, to show Stark and the rest of the world our side of the story, in the only way they'll listen, in the only scenario they'll even allow us to use words instead of our fists,” Matt continues, his stomach slowly sinking. He knows where this is going, but maybe... maybe if he plays dumb, Steve will abandon the notion... Maybe. Matt smiles tightly. “Why didn't you just say so? So I keep doing what we're doing, we stick to the plan, only difference is I keep my day job. I wouldn make a shitty engineer anyway...”

Please, please, please let it go...

No such luck.

“Listen, Darede–“

Matt almost winces.

“No,” he cuts him off icily, firmly, and prays Steve will just drop it because the man can be too convincing for his own good. He can hear both Hercules' and Goliath's muscles tensing reflexively. "You cannot ask this of me-"

“Matt,” Steve says, and though Matt hates him for sounding so reasonable, his body betrays him by deflating minutely. Some of the tension in his shoulders disappears.

“You're ordering me to stay out of this,” Matt says coldly, accusingly - beggingly - , but his tone is more resignation than straight out resistance. Steve sighs tiredly. Almost like he's sorry he has to do this. Matt scoffs.

“I'm asking. We cannot risk our lawyer being exposed as one of us. Do you have any idea what a scandal that would turn into?” Yes. Matt has a pretty good idea. “We need someone to represent us, and with Walters on Tony's side...”

“And you want me to face the She-Hulk in court?”

He manages to end the sentence in a loud whisper, but his indignation is still tangible enough to turn some heads in their direction.

“You're insane,” he whispers as he waits for their attention to be diverted elsewhere, grabbing onto the edge of the table with both hands. He would bet his knuckles are white as snow.

Foster chuckles amusedly.

“What's the matter, Daredevil? Scared?” he teases, impervious to the unfocused glare Matt inflicts on his collarbone.

“I'm not afraid to admit Jennifer Walters is an amazing lawyer who can wipe the floor with me and my partner. Literally,” he growls, crossing his arms petulantly before wilting as a horrifying thought strikes him. “And even if she doesn't, she's probably the type who eats little guys like Foggy breakfast, oh God... cut it out, guys, I'm serious! You haven't heard the stories!”

That only seems to fan the snickering.

“Oh, man,” Hercules wipes a tear away, only to dissolve once more into chuckles as he looks at Matt's horrified face.

“Is that... the kind of urban legends you hear about in law school, Murdock?” Foster asks mirthfully. “Did they tell you the big, bad, green lady would come for you if you-”

“This is not funny,” Matt says, voice muffled behind his two hands.

“Cut it out, both of you,” Steve orders, but his voice betrays the slightest tremble of barely contained mirth. “You can talk about this later, in private-”

“Fuck you, Rogers.”

“But now,” he stresses, his voice decidedly more serious, as he waits until the other two have sobered down. “Now we have a decision to make. A decision in which Matt has the final word,” he adds, directing an expectant look at the redhead. “Not only are you in a position to do a lot of good for our cause. You also have a huge advantage that nearly no one else on our side has. Only the three of us, plus Luke and Danny – now that Jessica is in Canada with Danielle – , know who you are. Out of all of us, your identity is the most airtight-”

“Parker knows as well,” he retorts weakly, grasping at straws.

“But Tony doesn't know that,” Steve counters like he was expecting that argument. Probably was, the bastard. “We'll have to trust Peter to keep your secret. He's a good kid, he won't out you against your will.”

“What about Wilson? Wade Wilson?” he makes the correction before Captain can inquire about the Falcon. “He's known about me for... years,” he waves his hand around vaguely. Even Matt can't remember how long it's been. “I can't even remember how he found out. Last I heard he was hired by Stark to bring us in. A Hero Hunter of sorts.”

Steve actually pauses at that.

“Was he?” he asks, frowning worriedly. “Is he likely to come after you?”

Matt opens his mouth, but the words that stumble out are not the ones he'd expected. They're true, nonetheless.

“Not really,” he admits defeatedly. “Deadpool might be a sleazeball, but he can be downright decent when it matters.”

“And he's no longer working for Stark as a Hero Hunter,” Hercules inputs, in the tone of someone sharing the latest gossip, going on over Captain's outraged you knew about this? like he doesn't even hear him. “Not since him and Cable had their little lovers' spat over the whole thing.”

“Lovers' spat?” Foster asks with a frown, taking a moment to digest the words over Steve's frustrated moan of no one tells me anything anymore before adding, “I thought it was more of a divorce?”

“No shit. That bad?”

“That's what they're calling it. Even if they weren't technically married, you know...”

“Damn.”

“Uh-huh.”

“If you guys are done, can we please go back to business?” Steve actually pleads, that tired he is. It seems more effective than an actual order. “Thank you. Now, Matt... you don't have to give me an answer right now. But please, just... think about it. Sleep on it. Talk it over with your partner... I can give you a couple of days to decide.”

Matt nods mutely. Defeatedly.

"Even if it proves useless to try to get to Stark - which I'm not losing hope of yet -, it'll still be a huge help to have someone out there looking out for us," he adds softly in a tone whose effectiveness in convincing others Matt is sure Steve is fully aware of. "We need someone to defend us where our superpowers fail. And if you can get us some sympathy with the general public... well, that doesn't hurt either."

Matt runs his hands through his hair, cursing inwardly at being put in such a tough position. He wants to rebel at the suggestion of staying out of the real fight, of keeping to the sidelines, but Steve made a strong case and it's hard to ignore it.

He can tell when the others wordlessly decide to give him some space, and it irks him as much as he appreciates it. He shuts them out as they empty their plates and make small talk for the rest of the evening, his thoughts whirlwinding inside his head.

Foggy will, undoubtedly, be delighted by the proposition. That'll make one of them, he thinks sourly.

He vaguely senses Steve waving the waitress over and paying for their food. The clicking of her heels on the tiled floor and the way her heartbeat spikes when Steve smiles at her go unregistered.

“Keep the change, Ma'am, and thanks for a wonderful meal.”

He's already turning the idea around in his head, looking at it from every angle, and making a list of the pros and cons of agreeing to Steve's request.

He cannot help but feel like, whatever choice he makes, he'll end up regretting it.

oh boy.

oh boy oh boy.

OKAY so: SPOILERS here for Daredevil 17 if any of you guys haven't read it yet, pls go read it, buy or download it somehow and read it bc it's v good but also WOW GOODBYE MY FUCKING FEELINGS

if you're still reading this either you already know what's going on or you WANT to be spoiled so here goes

OKAY. so. in the past few issues Matt's life has gone p much right down the shitter because of the Owl, who somehow hooked himself up to some kind of device that made him able to--I guess see through the Internet? and because of that he was able to expose like a bunch of seriously personal shit about Matt's personal and professional life and also wrecked his credibility with the deputy mayor of San Francisco by framing him for the kidnapping in the first issue. shit has gotten so bad he decides to go visit Wilson Fisk so they can make a deal.

fuck's sake, Murdock.

and then meanwhile, Foggy and Kirsten are on a boat, waiting up on Matt, when Ikari shows up and p much kidnaps them off the boat. because he's working for Fisk now. so yeah.

what happens in 17? Matt finds the Shroud's girlfriend Julia Carpenter, who apparently was formerly Spider-Woman, but then Max (aka the Shroud) finds her too and then the Owl's daughter shows up and takes her hostage. which is hilarious bc then Julia just hits her in the face with an elbow ("SHOW SOME RESPECT" god damn) and Matt ends up taking her somewhere. I don't know it's been a day, but I think he ends up losing her?

and then he shows up to Fisk's, and finds out that not only is Julia already there, but so are Kirsten and Foggy, and they're in bad shape - there's shock collars and I am not okay oh my god my babies. and Fisk tells Matt that he never wanted Matt to work for him, he just wants Matt to die by Ikari's hand. which nearly happened once before, holy Christ. so then there's a fight, they crash through a window, and Matt starts putting a plan together in his head while they're sparring (which is punctuated by getting shot at, oh my GOD). they make it to a rooftop again, and Matt's just about to put that plan into motion when the Shroud comes along and. throws Ikari off the rooftop.

now, earlier, Fisk tells Matt that, should Matt not die, well--he doesn't really need two hostages, he'll kill one and keep the other. should Matt die, though, neither Kirsten nor Foggy will be safe. he gets a plan forming in his head that'll save them all but then the Shroud fucks up that plan by throwing Ikari off the rooftop.

the panel I was referring to?

http://41.media.tumblr.com/3708cf718f7d1cc12a92fdac44edfbc3/tumblr_ns9l1bQjyY1ru8a30o1_1280.png

[INELEGANT BLUBBERING NOISES]

Same here! It would be a fun play on the title of the prompt!

Matt would be sitting there feeling so confused because there's no way they did all these outlandish things and yet no one is lying?? The only person who would ping his human lie detector would be Malory herself, and even then he could feel her staring him down while she explained what actually happened.

Archer would start laughing and never stop if asked to be her character witness. Everyone else would be an instant noooooope, too intimidated by her to be any use, or Cheryl. (Cheryl would do her posh person voice on the stand. Foggy would gently rest his head on the desk and not move.)

...Now, when you said "being self-destructive hot messes...with each other" did you mean literally "with each other" or metaphorically "with each other?"
Whichever, but mainly I meant that I want them to have sex (and then furiously deny it afterwards).

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Page 132 of 186

Prompt Post #5

Re: Minifill: Matt accidentally/on purpose stops crimes, gen

Re: House Xover

Re: Archer crossover

Re: fill, not every saint is a fool, 1/?

Re: fill: still got a lot of fight left in me 3/?

Matt's idea of abuse

Re: Daredevil + Nuns

Re: Matt/Foggy, breaking in the new office equipment

Re: Minimill: Stronger Now

Re: [gen or any/any] "i had this."

Fill:Part 1/? Matt/Foggy/Karen: soulmate AU

Fill:Part 2/? Matt/Foggy/Karen: soulmate AU

Re: Daredevi chastises the Avengers for using the Lords name in vain

Re: Fill:Part 2/? Matt/Foggy/Karen: soulmate AU

Re: Matt knows how to knit

Re: Matt/Foggy or Matt&Foggy, Foggy teaching Matt how to swim

Re: Prostitute Foggy

Re: Minimill: Stronger Now

Re: Matt knows how to knit

Wesley/Fisk, Wesley loses his memory

Fill: Civil War AU: Daredevil doesn't fight, part 1a/?

Re: Fill: Civil War AU: Daredevil doesn't fight, part 1b/?

Re: [gen or any/any] "i had this."

Re: Foggy calls in the Calvary

Re: Archer crossover